- February 1, 2021
I’ve read and listened to a couple of things lately that made me feel led to write this post. We spend a lot of time attempting to do good things, and suppress some bad things. Some are habits, but most likely cravings. Attention, power, success, money…food, alcohol, drugs, sex.
One bad thing about cravings is that when fed, they grow! Another bad thing about it is that they never fully satisfy us. And when they don’t, you have to go bigger the next time for the same, short term result you got before.
And this is where I think our ‘drive’ can be misplaced. Going for more success and money? The world rewards this right? But how many marriages are damaged or destroyed with all the travel and time spent on career? Marriage survived, but what about the relationships with the children – do you have any? What did you model for your children?
Sustainable change must be made. You can rearrange some things at a surface level. But that only works for a while. And then its back to the cravings, fulfilling the appetite. Sustainable change is why Jesus came to this earth. He didn’t teach about changing one’s behavior. He taught about transformational life change that He offers.
What I see in this is something author Paul David Tripp wrote about. We ask the present to give us things that only eternity can deliver. This fuels the drive although misplaced, and leads to more frustration, disappointment, and damage to our lives and those lives around us.
The conclusion as stated in a recent sermon I heard: walk away from what you want NOW, for what you want MOST. Wake up every morning and do the things God says are good, the things that’ll have an eternal impact.