What you want, You cannot have, the question is, will you pine over that fact, will those items that you know are forever outside of your reach in this life continuously be a burden to you soul, are you suffering for that which will never be within your reach?
I could be wrong, but I doubt any of you reading this just stepped out of your chauffer driven limousine, sat down on your private jet, and are now headed to your private island to relax for a few weeks on the warm sand, all of your wants and needs being provided by those in your entourage. “Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” (James 1:15)
Most of you I would presume live basically a day-to-day existence, perhaps you have enough food for the week in your house, perhaps not, but the question is, do you still want, and are those things that you desire unquestionably outside of your capability to obtain? How much of the lust of the flesh and the eyes drives your life, do you watch the television with envy, do the items that the world constantly places within your view bring a longing into your life that you know will never be achieved or held by you, is your life one of feigned resignation while at the same time saying you have denied the world and seek only those things that are above?
There are those who indeed are our brothers and sisters in Christ who take little thought to those daily needs, they have a financial wherewithal that many who call Jesus Christ Lord will never have, they are wealthy in the world, in money, and have the riches of the Lord at the same time, and they know which one means the most. Do you envy them? Do you want to be like them? Would you give more to the work of the Lord if you had more, or would the widow who gave the two mites still end up giving more than you? (Mark 12:41-44)
This short letter is not about what you have, but what you want, and why you want it, it concerns your walk with Christ no matter the station in life He has placed you in, so the question is relevant in this area, are you truly content today, are you seeking the things of God or desiring to have Him and more here?
We are a difficult race to please, especially when it comes to wants, for if you are wise, you will understand this, that item of the world that you want so badly will not be the last item you will want, nothing in this world will. Whatever it is, soon it will lose its luster, it will be seen as what it truly is, just another toy to toss into the toybox, just another goal reached and what you saw at the end of that goal was another goal to be sought after.
I know a lot of you are thinking, “When I get to heaven I will know pleasures forever more,” just like Psalm 16:11 says, but what I hear is that you are not satisfied here and now, what I hear from those is that they are not content, but they can pretend to be, and if I just keep denying those things that I know I will never have in this life, if I just keep that part of me buried deep inside and don’t think about it, everything will be alright.
If you are suffering in silence in this manner, it does not make the suffering any less painful, if you are lying to yourself about these items you want but will never have, saying “They really don’t matter to me,” that does not make it any less of a lie. The diversions and desires of this would cause deceitfulness, they are the lie, and as long as you seek after them, you will remain trapped by them. “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” (Phil. 4:11), and “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” (Col. 3:2) These are nothing more than memory verses to many I fear.
