Have you ever seen children at a store? They’ll cry as soon as they can’t get something they want. It amazes me how many times some of them will say “I want it,” as if that was justification for the parent to shell out all the money they can and make their child happy. The Veruca Salt syndrome has taken hold.
Yes. Many of them may be spoiled and many parents are doing a good job avoiding that, but I wonder if there could be a clue here. I wonder if even little children seem to know that there is something wrong with the world. They have these wants and desires and there doesn’t seem to be a way to fill them so many times and these foolish parents, in their eyes, just can’t see how essential to happiness fulfilling these desires is.
Yes. They need some self-control, but do we not all have many of those same desires at heart? How many of us pray to God with our requests and ultimately, the only reason we can think of is “I want it?” Oh, we can think of many ways this could advance God’s kingdom, but isn’t it ultimately the same request? I think now of how many times I was at Thanksgiving dinner and hearing my family pray that the food would be used to nourish their bodies for the advance of the kingdom. I would sometimes wonder, “This is nice to say now, but I really think you’re just thankful to have Thanksgiving dinner at the moment.”
I’m not condemning it either. It seems so many times though we just want to act pious when really, we’re asking for something we just want. I don’t think that’s always wrong. In some cases, it could be, but I also remember that God gives us all things richly for our enjoyment and that what father when his son asks for an egg will give him a snake?
Perchance for many of us that child side has been killed by ourselves. I intend to keep mine alive. I think this gives us a zeal for life if we keep it going. I hope everyone would. Imagine going to bed and telling God you want more of life each night. You want to know him more. You want to love him more. You want to be more devoted.
<> Maybe you honestly don’t want that yet. I can relate many times. If you pray it though, I can imagine it being a reality soon. You can more enjoy the adventure of life as life is to be lived in God.
Thus, I say to go out and seek more. God’s given us a whole world as a playground. Let’s enjoy it.
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