More is Less, Less is More

Morning readings: Psalms 116; 147:12-20, 1 Kings 11:1-13, James 3:13-4:12, Mark 15:12-21

"To want what I have, to take what I’m given with grace...for this, I pray."

- from “For My Wedding” by Don Henley

Is it human nature to be dissatisfied with what we have? Some pop psychologists portray chronic dissatisfaction as a modern ailment, but nearly twenty centuries ago the Book of James chronicled it:

"Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts." (James 4:1-2)

The downfall of King Solomon, who was revered for decades as Israel's wisest king, was due to his desire for nearly countless wives from foreign lands; despite God's warnings, they eventually led him to worship strange gods and fall out of the Lord's favor (Kings 11:1-13).

Carp competing for food.

Perhaps we long for more material comforts, more lovers, or more power because we believe they will provide contentment. Maybe our desires are masked as virtues, and we become frustrated when we seek to find patience, wisdom, or kindness beyond our natural abilities. Whether we feel we lack possessions or attitude, whose standard are we trying to live up to? God has created and loves us just as we are. When we learn to accept that love and just be, our need to have and be more evaporates. Mysteriously that's also how we begin to learn to be more: more Christ-like, more content, more loving of ourselves and others.

Jesus expressed faith in our ability to rise above our acquisitive natures and seek that which is truly valuable. In parables about pearls of great price and hidden treasures, by asking rich young men to give up all they had, he revealed the truth of gaining everything by letting it all go.

Evening readings: Psalms 26; 130