"What do you want?"This question is asked millions of times per day around our globe, in multiple settings, and with a variety of voice inflections and facial expressions
I am thinking about a tired and exasperated mother of an energized three-year-old walk through a Wal-Mart. She turns to her pitiful, pleading, nagging child after thirty minutes of non-stop “Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!” and she exclaims, “What do you want?!”
I’m thinking about the midnight-shift waitress at a truck stop in the middle of Nebraska, taking orders from bleary-eyed truckers and weary motorists. She has about two hours to go before she can call it a night. She fakes her best smile and asks, “What do you want?”
What do I want?
In Day 12 of our 40-Days Toward a Life of Compassion Workbook, we are challenged with this question. But it doesn’t stop there. The further challenge comes when I have to compare and contrast what I judge to be "wants" versus what I am calling "needs." And how many times in daily conversation do we get those two mixed up?
I need a new car. I need that outfit. I need that new driver on display at the pro-shop. I need a different job, school, coach, teacher, boss, etc. The list goes on.
In Luke 10, just after the story of the Good Samaritan, we follow Jesus to the home of Mary and Martha (sisters of Lazarus–See John 11). Mary is going crazy with the arrangements for hosting Jesus. Her exasperation with her sister's lack of help spews out in her conversation. She demands that Jesus step in and tell Mary to get up and help. To which Jesus utters this paradigm-shifting reply:
"Martha, Martha," [Jesus answered], "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
That "one thing" is somehow rooted in our personal walk with God (Luke 10:39). It is that relationship, our relationship with our Creator, Sustainer, Savior, Comforter, King, Guide and Friend that recasts what I believe I need, and what I simply want. This challenge cannot be resolved on a whim, or fully transformed just because we have been pummeled by an international or personal financial downturn.
The challenge to really identify the difference between my needs and wants will ultimately only be solved in an ongoing walk with the one who knows me from dust to destiny. I can only hope to get a glimpse of the big picture when I spend time with the Artist.
- Don McLaughlin
