Here's something that is fascinating to me as a human being. It's something that most people don't even notice because it's so ingrained in culture. People have an unmistakable need to worship something. Everyone I've ever met worships something. This is not like the times of old where people carve statues and such and bow down to them and pray to them. No, we're much more civilized. (*cough cough*)
In this country most people worship celebrities, money, or political figures (which I still consider celebrities, but lets stay on track here.) If you don't believe me, stop and think about it for a minute. How many people are obsessed with various famous people? They follow their tweets, their latest life situations in the 40 billion (perhaps an underestimate) magazines or tv shows entirely dedicated to celebrity gossip. For those who (like me) tend to avoid the whole celebrity thing, there are other big traps that are very easy to fall into. For instance: money and/or power. I group them together because they act very similar. When you don't have them you tend to want them, when you have a little bit, you get addicted and want more, and when you have a lot, it tends to completely destroy you. This isn't ALWAYS the case, but let's be honest. Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely and Jesus says "its more difficult for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven."
Now, I'm not saying that liking a celebrity is wrong, or that having money or power is wrong. What I am saying is that the worship of these things is wrong. When something of this nature (or anything else that isn't God) is your primary focus, even if you just "need to make more to make sure my family is taken care of..." then we are idolaters.
The ONLY way, to get beyond this and find true satisfaction in this life is to worship God, The Creator. The Maker of heaven and earth. The one who designed you and allowed you to breathe that last breath you just took.
He's the one that designed us to have this need to worship, and He WANTS us to worship with everything in us. The thing is, He wants us (and rightly so) to worship HIM. That's what He made us for. He made us to glorify His name.
What's even cooler about this, is that when we glorify Him, we are most satisfied. Nothing else in this world compares to knowing God. Nothing. We are made to worship God, and because of that, there is NO greater joy or happiness than when you do.
I'm no theologian, but I have managed to figure this much out. If you want the opinion of a theologian, go read a couple posts down to learn what John Piper has to say on the issue of gaining satisfaction. It may just open your eyes to something you've never seen before.
As always, feedback is appreciated.
- Nathan
