Never Satisfied

God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground."Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so. Genesis 1:28-30

Looking back on my life, I have been truly blessed. I have a very loving and caring family who has always been there for me. I have been blessed with some of the greatest friends anyone could ask for.

The one thing I think I am missing is a good memory. I say this, because I often forget how blessed I am; I forget how fortunate I am to have such wonderful and amazing people in my life.

I think this is something that we all forget. We look at our lives and see what we are missing, instead of what we have. We look so far down the road, that we miss the blessings that are right in front of our face. Instead of being thankful for what we have, we 'lust' after what we do not.

As humans, that is one of our biggest problems; we are never satisfied. We always want more. Perhaps it is more money, perhaps more power or influence, perhaps a bigger house or a more 'normal' family. Sara Evans got it right when she sang saying “All the straight haired girls, they all want girls and the brunettes what to be blond.” There are lots of things we want in life, lots of things that we desire, and they keep our focus on we do not have, instead of what we do. It does seem that every time we get what we want, we get unsatisfied. We are always wondering what is behind the number two door.

And of course, this misguided focus, this lust for the things we do not have, is often the very thing that hurts and destroys relationships. I do not think there is a better example of this than Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve had everything anyone could have wanted; they had each other, they had a garden full of fruits and vegetables, they were the rulers of all beasts, and they had one of the closest relationships with God.

But for Adam and Eve, that wasn't enough. They were still unsatisfied because they hadn't fulfilled all of their dreams. They wanted more! Instead of looking at the beautiful garden, and how blessed their lives were, they wanted something they couldn't have; the forbidden fruit. And they pursued that desire, just like many of us pursue desires that may not be beneficial to ourselves or to our families, and in doing so they lost nearly everything.

By focusing on their desires, instead of their relationship with God, they destroyed it. By focusing on their desires, instead of the blessing of their home, the Garden of Eden, they lost it. By focusing on their desires, the first recorded 'blame' entered their relationship.

Perhaps that is one of the most dangerous lusts, the lust of being self-perfect; to know everything and be right all the time. This lust by itself causes us to ignore others opinions, feelings, and a lot of the times, the truth. Just like Adam blamed Eve to protect himself, this lust causes us to blame others to protect our pride.

Thanksgiving and Christmas is a time for us to reflect on the blessings we have received, and not the ones we haven't. Thanksgiving isn’t about the turkey; it is acknowledging everything that you are thankful for. Christmas isn't about giving gifts, but acknowledging the gifts we have been given. Christmas is a time for us to really take a deep look at ourselves, and ask, "What are we lusting for," and more importantly, "Why?"

Christmas is a time to be satisfied; a time for us to cherish the gifts God has given us. To cherish the wonderful salvation provided to us through His son Jesus Christ, to cherish our personal relationship with Him, to cherish our families and friends, and to cherish the many other blessings we have received.

This season, ask yourself, "What blessings have I been given," and then ask yourself, "How can I cherish them, and show that I am thankful for them?"