We want that which seems unattainable. We can't help it. We're born with this insatiable desire to get what we seemingly cannot have.
A great example of this is an experimental study that was done with two-year-old boys in the 1970's. The little boys that took part in this research were accompanied by their mothers into a room that contained two equally attractive toys. The toys sat side by side, but with one catch; one of them was behind a barrier of plexi-glass that the child would need to walk around if he wanted to play with it.
The findings were remarkable. Those little boys would walk around the plexi-glass to get at the toy while almost overwhelmingly, they ignored the toy that sat within arms reach. The research strongly indicated that the reality of the toy being out of their reach was reason enough to desire it.1 Humans want what they seemingly cannot have.
But it doesn't stop with two-year-old boys. Think about a time when you spent far too much money on some material thing that you didn't really need, just because you "had to have it." I've had more than my share of encounters with wanting what seemed to be out of reach, and I can tell you from experience, the "pull" to attain it has been incredible to my sinful human heart.
But God can be the great Equalizer for such selfish obsessions. Look at this admonishment in the book of Hebrews: "Don't be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have" (Hebrews 13:5).
When we put our trust in the Creator who made us, we're not constantly on the look out for the greener grass of someone or something else to attain happiness. We come to understand and internalize that material stuff doesn't make us happy no matter how much we imagine that it might. God's love is enough, and it can help us quell our constant cravings.
