We all want a lot of different things.
This seems to be part of what it is to be human.
Other animals have pretty limited sets of desires.
My dog, for example, seems to want food and sleep,
twice-daily walks when he can sniff everything in sight,
and cuddles on the couch in the evening,
and all of these wants are, more or less,
controlled by instinct.
But we human beings are a different story.
We want food and shelter,
but also new cars and an end to world hunger,
recognition by our peers
and something worth watching on television,
the latest cell phone and a happy marriage,
for our neighbor not to mow his lawn
at 7:00 AM on Saturday
and for Vladimir Putin
to withdraw his troops from Ukraine,
to enjoy eternal life in heaven
and to pay off our mortgage.
This seems to be part of what it is to be human.
Other animals have pretty limited sets of desires.
My dog, for example, seems to want food and sleep,
twice-daily walks when he can sniff everything in sight,
and cuddles on the couch in the evening,
and all of these wants are, more or less,
controlled by instinct.
But we human beings are a different story.
We want food and shelter,
but also new cars and an end to world hunger,
recognition by our peers
and something worth watching on television,
the latest cell phone and a happy marriage,
for our neighbor not to mow his lawn
at 7:00 AM on Saturday
and for Vladimir Putin
to withdraw his troops from Ukraine,
to enjoy eternal life in heaven
and to pay off our mortgage.
And each day we discover
new things to want.
We are desiring machines
who seem to desire most of all
more things to desire.
We are desiring machines
who seem to desire most of all
more things to desire.
Now some people would tell you
that all of this wanting is bad,
that it is materialistic or selfish
or a recipe for disappointment.
But this doesn’t seem quite right.
God made us to desire the good,
and it is precisely because things are good
that we want them;
it is their goodness that draws our desire.
And we don’t want just material things;
we want spiritual things like joy and peace.
And we don’t want things just for ourselves;
we want good things for those we love,
and even for the world as a whole.
And while you can avoid disappointment
by avoiding desire,
you do this at the cost of losing
those good things that only come
to those who seek them out.
that all of this wanting is bad,
that it is materialistic or selfish
or a recipe for disappointment.
But this doesn’t seem quite right.
God made us to desire the good,
and it is precisely because things are good
that we want them;
it is their goodness that draws our desire.
And we don’t want just material things;
we want spiritual things like joy and peace.
And we don’t want things just for ourselves;
we want good things for those we love,
and even for the world as a whole.
And while you can avoid disappointment
by avoiding desire,
you do this at the cost of losing
those good things that only come
to those who seek them out.
No, the problem is not with wanting things;
the problem is figuring out how to bring
some kind of order to our desires.
Because sometimes our desires
are in conflict with each other.
Can we continue to consume
a never-ending stream of products
and still hope to end world hunger?
Can I sacrifice all for my work
so as to gain recognition from my peers
and still have a happy marriage?
In the vast array of things we want
there is friction and conflict,
a need to prioritize our wants
and even to sacrifice
some desires for others.
But how do we discern
which of our wants is better,
which good is more worthy?
Unregulated by the instincts
of our fellow animals,
our wants can come to seem
like a chaotic ocean
in which we might drown.
the problem is figuring out how to bring
some kind of order to our desires.
Because sometimes our desires
are in conflict with each other.
Can we continue to consume
a never-ending stream of products
and still hope to end world hunger?
Can I sacrifice all for my work
so as to gain recognition from my peers
and still have a happy marriage?
In the vast array of things we want
there is friction and conflict,
a need to prioritize our wants
and even to sacrifice
some desires for others.
But how do we discern
which of our wants is better,
which good is more worthy?
Unregulated by the instincts
of our fellow animals,
our wants can come to seem
like a chaotic ocean
in which we might drown.
This is why Solomon,
when invited by God
to ask for whatever he wants
does not ask for a long life or for riches,
nor even for the defeat of Israel’s enemies.
He asks for an understanding heart.
He asks not for something
from the long litany of wants
that we human beings can easily generate,
but for the gift of wisdom,
that gift of insight
into what is right and what is not,
what is good and what is better.
He asks for the wisdom
that allows us to know our highest good
so that we can bring order to desire
by judging all things in light of God,
who is the source and goal of all our desiring.
when invited by God
to ask for whatever he wants
does not ask for a long life or for riches,
nor even for the defeat of Israel’s enemies.
He asks for an understanding heart.
He asks not for something
from the long litany of wants
that we human beings can easily generate,
but for the gift of wisdom,
that gift of insight
into what is right and what is not,
what is good and what is better.
He asks for the wisdom
that allows us to know our highest good
so that we can bring order to desire
by judging all things in light of God,
who is the source and goal of all our desiring.
This wisdom is the treasure
hidden in the field of all our many desires,
it is the pearl of great price,
for which we should be willing to give up
everything that we have or want.
For all of those things,
as good as they may be,
are limited in their goodness.
They clash with each other,
they wear out and vanish.
Only the infinite goodness of God,
the eternal source from which flows forth
the manifold goodness of creatures,
can shed on us the light of wisdom
that will allow us to bring order to our desires,
to see what is good and what is better
by seeing them all in light of what is best.
hidden in the field of all our many desires,
it is the pearl of great price,
for which we should be willing to give up
everything that we have or want.
For all of those things,
as good as they may be,
are limited in their goodness.
They clash with each other,
they wear out and vanish.
Only the infinite goodness of God,
the eternal source from which flows forth
the manifold goodness of creatures,
can shed on us the light of wisdom
that will allow us to bring order to our desires,
to see what is good and what is better
by seeing them all in light of what is best.
Jesus does not simply teach this wisdom
in his parables of the hidden treasure
and the pearl of great price.
He lives it in his life,
which is wholly given over
to the proclamation
of the good news of God’s kingdom,
and he lives it in his death,
enduring the cross and its shame
for the sake of the joy that lay before him.
Jesus gives all he has for the love of his Father,
and in doing so he gains all,
not simply for himself,
but for all of us,
winning for us eternal life,
becoming the firstborn
among many brothers and sisters.
in his parables of the hidden treasure
and the pearl of great price.
He lives it in his life,
which is wholly given over
to the proclamation
of the good news of God’s kingdom,
and he lives it in his death,
enduring the cross and its shame
for the sake of the joy that lay before him.
Jesus gives all he has for the love of his Father,
and in doing so he gains all,
not simply for himself,
but for all of us,
winning for us eternal life,
becoming the firstborn
among many brothers and sisters.
Being a Christian is not, in the end,
simply about giving things up;
it is about gaining everything
by gaining God.
St. Paul tells us that all things
work for good for those who love God.
If we give our heart to God above all else
then we will know how to love properly
all those things that are less than God
by desiring them for the sake of God;
we will see them in the light cast
by the eternity that Christ has won for us
and so be able to choose the better
for the sake of the best.
So let us give our all
for that pearl of great price,
the treasure of the wisdom
revealed in Christ,
and may God who is merciful
have mercy on us all.
simply about giving things up;
it is about gaining everything
by gaining God.
St. Paul tells us that all things
work for good for those who love God.
If we give our heart to God above all else
then we will know how to love properly
all those things that are less than God
by desiring them for the sake of God;
we will see them in the light cast
by the eternity that Christ has won for us
and so be able to choose the better
for the sake of the best.
So let us give our all
for that pearl of great price,
the treasure of the wisdom
revealed in Christ,
and may God who is merciful
have mercy on us all.
