When Need and Want Collide

I stood looking into the fridge this morning contemplating what to prepare for my breakfast. My dilemma was not that I lacked food to prepare rather the tug-of-war between Need and Want. My body needed healthy food as fuel. My mouth and appetite wanted something….else, something to appease a craving. I wasn't even sure what the craving was for but I was certain it wasn't the healthy food choices in front of me. That's really sad when the Want is trying to overrule the Need and it doesn't even know what the Want is!

For health's sake, I try to make the choices that are Need based. This required a change of attitude on my part because when we persist in thinking of 'want' as the desirable choice, leaving 'need' as the bummer second choice, we are doing a disservice to ourselves. Many people equate 'healthy' choices with a feeling of forced into depriving themselves of what they really want. Perhaps we should change our perspectives to have 'healthy' represent tasty, colorful, invigorating choices. It's possible. Well, it is possible when we commit to seeking what we Need over what we Want.

My oldest child was six months old her first Christmas. I wanted to give her everything. She needed very little and wanted nothing, so the 'want' that Christmas was mine. As parents, we typically want to give our children as much as we can but I'm afraid we are setting the wheels of entitlement up as standard operating procedure; turning their eyes to the throne of Want and never instilling the wisdom of satisfying Need. They need us to teach them and focus on the real reason for Christmas; they want us to fulfill their wish list. Which do you think will carry them through life, the knowledge of Christ and the significance of His birth or a shiny bike they will leave out in the yard and forget six months later?

We need a safe place to live that protects us from the elements; we want a place to show off and feel good about. We need a simple vehicle to facilitate transporting us across the miles; we want a shiny whiz-bang vehicle we can feel flashy driving. We need a few clothes to protect us from weather and arrest; we want a closet full of clothes, shoes, purses, jackets, and accessories. We need to live a godly life; we want life to be one big party to keep us entertained. We need solitude for quiet time with God; we want the TV or music on all the time so we do not have to deal with thinking about real issues. We need honest communication in our relationships; we want surface level talk that does not challenge us or require anything from us. Need collides with Want consistently.

As Christians, we argue that God wants to give us the desires of our hearts and we desire a big house, fancy cars, and lots of bling. Perhaps if we looked at what God wanted over what we want, we could look at the significant issues. God is more concerned of the state of our hearts and souls than the car we drive or the clothes we wear. Those things will blow away like chafe while the core of whom and what we are, our spirit, lives on. Are we not to seek after His heart where His desires then become our desires? That changes things in my mind. If god wants to give us the desires of our hearts, which is inline with the desires of His heart, then material things really do not come into play, do they? Yes, God can and does bless us with things, but for the most part people have the cart before the horse. The blessings of things come after we are inline with His thinking and ways, not simply because we want them or feel we are entitled to them. Scripture says God provides for our needs; it does not mention Him providing all our wants. I can't help but think we Need to get our minds of all we Want and focus on the state of our faith walk over the way we look as we go through this fleeting life. Can't take it with us when we go regardless; won't need it in hell and it's not worthy of heaven.

I am on a quest to pare my life down to meet my needs because I am drowning in all the accumulation of my wants. Seriously, we can drown carrying the millstone of Want around our necks. This is not limited to 'stuff' but attitudes, opinions, habits, and mindless actions need weeding through, as well. I want to free myself from slavery to Want. Do not think this is an easy task. A simple walk through Wal-Mart finds new wants all over the place. I hold every Want up to the light of Need and if it is not a legitimate Need, I walk away from it. That's my plan anyway. I've already started the purge process and have eased my way through the initial shock to my Want system. I'll keep you posted on how things are going. Anyone need and/or want to take the challenge with me?