What Do You Really Want?

Listening to a series of teachings on the subject of what do you really want which has inspired me to write about the subject.  There is a biblical teaching on the subject of what we really want in James 4:1-3.  James, the brother of Jesus, teaches that we often don't have what we want because we do not ask God.  He goes on to say that when we ask God, we don't receive because we ask with the wrong motives, we are focused on our own pleasures, pleasures that do not really address our true needs.

When I consider what James is saying, I think about how we identify what we really want and the reality is that often, we do not go into a long process of thinking about it.  Think about the answer to the question, what do you really want?  What we often neglect to say is, I want what I want.  Yes, the reality is what want what we want at that very moment.  We get upset at work because the decision did not go our way, we get upset at home because our partner did not want what we want, we get upset with our kids because they do not want to do what we want them to do, and so forth.  But have we ever considered the other side of the coin, how often when we get what we want and end up regretting it.  Think about how many times you, like I, have had this thought "If I could go back and do it again knowing what I know now, things would be so different".  Yes, if we could go back knowing that what we wanted then is not what we really should have wanted, things would be different.  Thus the need to carefully assess what it is really truly want, what drives the desires of our heart, and how we determine what we really should want.  Sounds a bit confusing perhaps, but think about it and consider what it is you really want.  As you think about it, keep the following questions in mind:

• Is what I want today, going to get in the way of what I want for the future?
• Is getting my way going to get in the way of what I want for the future? 
• Is getting what I want followed by the reality that I also want it now?  
• Is what I want now helping me with what I will want later? 
• Is there a time where I didn't get what I wanted then, that I can be grateful for? 
• Is what I want now only going to satisfy a temporary pleasure?
• is what I want now based on a thoughtful consideration of how it impacts where I want to be later? 

More to follow on the next piece, just a little advice to go!