Hollow Pursuits

Ok, this is something I copied off my website (yeah, I am lazy today and in no mood to think of something new).

It’s basically about what makes people content and happy with their lives. And yes, I know it has a bit of a religious slant, but hey, I suppose I do too.

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After being around church folks for the vast majority of my life, I’ve heard many, many altar calls and have heard pretty much every angle that preachers use to try and “save” people (basically meaning get the to come forward at an altar call or get them to repeat a prayer).

I think the approach I’ve heard the most goes something like this: “You look for happiness in money, but you don’t find it. You look for happiness in a job and security, but you don’t find it. You look for happiness in another person, but you don’t find it there either. Every time you think that you know what will make you happy and fulfilled, you look to something else after you get it.” Then they launch into how only God can make someone happy, fill the “god shaped hole in their heart”, etc., etc., etc.

I’ve thought about this, and found that the argument is fairly accurate. Everyone is pursuing things. They may be cars, a house, a boat, a job, a special someone, raising kids, etc. But everyone is chasing after something, and if they would take a deep look at their motives and be brutally honest, they chase them because they think that attaining those things will bring them happiness.

The problem occurs when they get what they’ve been chasing. Why? Because it never does satisfy, and they have to start all over chasing something else.

Christians, on the other hand, are supposed to be different. They are supposed to live for God. While there are many people out there who claim to be Christians, there are only a handful of real ones who walk the walk. I’ve spent considerable amounts of time with these too.

Know what I’ve found? That Christians are no different in their motives than everyone else in the world.

The carnal “Christian,” who isn’t really a Christian except by the name they give themselves, never changes from their worldly lusts and is just as damned as the heathen. They are doing the exact same things as the world. Their actions are no different, their thoughts and motives are just as evil and corrupt as those of the “sinners”. The only difference is that they go to church in order to pacify their consciences and give themselves the false assurance that they’re cool with God.

The real Christians though, maintain the same motives, but change the focal point of their affections. Instead of running after money, they become consumed with letting God provide and staying in his will. Instead of doing things to make themselves better people, they spend their time trying to let God “burn the dross” out of them and refine them. Instead of seeking love from a person, they go after God, but are still not satisfied. You hear phrases like, “I just want to be closer Lord…” or “I want to know you more…” etc. It never ends, because it is a pursuit just like any other, and I have yet to find anyone who has gotten so much of God that they look to something else (in fact, as in my case, people seem to find so little that they go looking elsewhere). In the end you look for more or for something else.

There really is no difference between Christians and the world. The only difference is what we are focused on.

But still, nothing satisfies; the pursuit of what we think will make up happy only pacifies us.

So I ask you, “Where’s the difference?”

“Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.”- Bad Religion