I've been reading from Christian philosopher Rene Girard.
Good stuff.
One of Girard's major insights is how prone we are to imitate and adopt the desires of others... because we're not very good at knowing what to desire ourselves...
... and this leads to rivalry, conflict, grudges and even
violence.
A classic example goes like this:
Two children are playing in a room with what seems like hundreds of toys. And what ends up happening? Eventually they end up fighting over the same toy!
Or take another example:
Two friends become interested in the same woman... and a
rivalry develops between them... and it's driven by the fact that each friend sees that the woman is desired by the other.
Girard's insights about our covetous hearts are right on the money... and go a long way toward explaining how friction occurs in all kinds of relationships... affecting friendships, marriages, businesses, churches, and factions in society.
But...
The covetousness Girard identifies also does something else...
... it keeps us from fulfilling the purpose God has for us in His kingdom... as our hearts are fixed on desiring things other than His best for us...
... and this keeps us from seeking Christ's kingdom and His righteousness... and
pursuing the unique calling He has for our own lives.
So...
Watch over your heart...
Step away from any desires that spring from covetousness...
And be careful who you are imitating, too.
And when you do imitate
the desires of another, choose those like the Apostle Paul, who said:
"Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ" (1 Cor.11:1).
May God help us desire what we ought to desire... so we'd be all we can be for His kingdom.
Get
Dominion,