I Want Everything!

I remember a scene from an old Our Gang movie. The kids were at a picnic, I think, and there was a large table of food and a woman at the head taking orders. She asked each of the kids as they approached: “What would you like?” She then made the sandwich or prepared the plate for them. When the little fat kid reached the head of the line, however, he responded to her question with: “I want everything.”

I think all of us are in many ways like the little fat kid, we want it all.

I was, and you probably were also, taught that I can have anything I want in this country – all I have to do is go out and earn it. And I set about in my life diligently doing just that, but as I got what I wanted, I always seemed to want more. It’s a point I’ve touched on in previous blogs; how can an income of $20,000 or $25,000 a year in this country be a poverty level income? We’ve redefined what it means to be poor in this country, raising everyone’s expectations, even those of the poor people. And unfortunately, (and I hate to bring this up, but I can’t help myself) it seems while I learned that I could have anything I earned, some are now preaching in this country that you can have anything you want. And for some, they want everything.

This morning at my small men’s group a speaker told us about his evangelization ministry. He feels called by the Holy Spirit to go out and proclaim the Word of God in public. He mentioned how he sometimes changed his approaches, seeking to reach more people. I wondered aloud how his expectations compared with God’s – perhaps he was only supposed to reach one person. That is the point I want to leave with you today.

I think there is a conflict within each of us who try to be Godly people: how much do I listen to and try to do the Will of God versus how much do I make use of the talents He gave me, to their maximum benefits. Him doing things versus me doing things; am I focused too much on one or the other; where is the balance? What type of consolations or recognition do I expect in return, something which says I am doing a good job? In response I suggest to you: Do Not Be Anxious.

In deciding what to do, first seek God’s Will, use your talents to decide how best to implement what you perceive His will to be, and then say a small prayer: My Jesus, I Trust in You. And then you do your best, and trust that He will do His. Certainly our intentions count for something, even if our results turn out to be nothing. And we need to look at things this way in all aspects of our life. We need to trust that He is doing His part; we cannot be overly worried that things aren’t perfect, as we would define perfect. We can’t constantly want and expect everything. Even Jesus wanted to convert the world, but he did it one person at a time. He wanted to heal everyone, but he didn’t heal cities, he healed individuals. He wanted big results, but he was content to let the Holy Spirit play a lead role in making that happen. He came to earth not to be perfect in the works of a God, but to be perfect in the works of a man.

Why do we sometimes expect more of ourselves?

So, be the best worker you can be; be the best husband/wife you can be; be the best father/mother, the best son/daughter, and then do not worry about your results. Yes, being the best means using all the talents you were given, including your human reasoning, to make yourself better. But don’t expect perfection. Your boss will sometimes criticize your work – your company may fail; your spouse may not speak to you for something you did; your child may lock himself in his room; and your parent may punish you unjustly --- they just don’t understand the situation; they don’t know the good you were trying to do. Accept these things; you won’t be perfect, neither will they.

Don’t want everything; be content with the many blessings you have. I’m content with knowing you.

P.S. As I was to post this, I read an interesting post from a young man about to enter the Capuchin order of monks. His latest post reflecting on what HIS journey means is very insightful; perhaps you may like it also: Be Thou My Vision http://newbaptism.blogspot.com/