What are you living for?

Each of us lives for something. We labor and strive every day and throughout our whole lives to get somewhere, to gain something, to move beyond where we are, to add to what we presently have. And whatever that thing is for which we live, it shapes our lives and deeply affects the decisions we make every day. In a real sense, it governs us. We’re enslaved to it. We’re driven by it. It preoccupies us. So what is it for you? What are you living for?

For some, it’s profit. They live to make money. They believe money can buy them the things they need to make them happy. So they’re constantly striving to get ahead, to make a little more money. They sacrifice family time to work more. They forgo pleasures and opportunities to relax because it cuts into the time they need for work. They’re slaves to their greed, to the pursuit of money. But the irony of it is, they’re not happy. The happiness purchased by money is very short-lived. The thing we had to have and couldn’t live without, the thing we just knew would make us happy always winds up neglected on the shelf collecting dust or put on Craigslist to make way for the next happy item. Greed is a cruel taskmaster and its slaves are miserable under its tyranny.

For others, it’s pleasure. They live to feel good. They live entirely in the moment. They follow their hearts in the pursuit of its lust for pleasure. Little thought is given to the consequences of their actions, or to the encroachment of those actions upon necessary duties, or to the cost of those actions to their conscience and soul. If an action promises pleasure, if it promises the rapture of their feelings, if it promises to be the doorway to their happiness, then they just do it. They’re slaves to their lust, to the pursuit of pleasure. But the irony is, they’re not happy. All their pleasures leave them unsatisfied, on the very treadmill they were hoping to get off, spinning their wheels in the same unhappy drudgery. The pleasures of sin are like the crackling of thorns in the fire. They make a lot of noise and heat at first, but in a quick moment they’re reduced to ashes and the result is silence and the return of the cold. Lust is a cruel taskmaster and its slaves are miserable under its tyranny.

And for others, it’s praise. They live for the applause and approval of men. All they care about is what others think of them. If an action will get them men’s praise, they’ll do it; but if it’ll get them men’s disdain, they’ll not do it. They live under the pressure of those around them and subject to the mood of their onlookers. They think so highly of themselves and take such pride in themselves that they can’t bear it if others think less of them and they’re desperate for others to puff a little more air into their balloon. But the irony is, they’re not happy. Men are so fickle with their praise that it’s impossible to keep them happy. One day they think the world of you and promise they’ll always love you. But they’re expectations of you are so high and unreachable that if you do just one little thing wrong–and who doesn’t?–they turn on you and find someone else to follow. You become history, they quickly forget all about you, and they’re on to someone better than you. Pride is a cruel taskmaster and its slaves are miserable under its tyranny.

So… what about you? What are you living for? What are you working for? What makes you happy? Who’s approval do you need?

You were created to live for God. You were created to serve and worship Him and be greedy for the happiness He brings to the soul. You were created to find all your joy, pleasure, and satisfaction in God and to lust or covet after His presence and fellowship. You were created to look for His approval and to see yourself in His light and to care about what He thinks of you.

Today is Saturday. It’s the Christian’s day of preparation, the day we put all our affairs in order and prepare to spend the Lord’s Day in the worship, service, and praise of our God. Let me encourage you to take the time to consider whether you’re living for God or man or self; to consider whether you’re looking for satisfaction in God or in this world; to consider whether you live for the approval of God or men. And whatever you discover… may tomorrow find you at the Master’s feet in the most happy surrender and the most willing service.

For God alone is a kind, merciful, and loving taskmaster and His children alone are happy and blessed in His service. Indeed, slavery to God is the truest freedom for the soul of man–for only in Him do we find our purpose for being, the meaning of life, and the enduring fulfillment and joy for which our souls long. May you find yourself today and always in His service and under His smile.