Heart Failure: Idolatry - Ecclesiastes 2:3

I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life. - Ecclesiastes 2:3

    Despite the technological advances; despite the increased health and wealth of the last 200 years, we remain unhappy and unfulfilled. It’s like the fact that the U.S. has more home exercise machines than any other nation in the world and we are still by far the most obese people on the planet.
    Our restlessness engulfs us in spite of the innovations and inventions mankind has developed and we continue to futilely search for ‘the next big thing.’ How many times have we thought, “If I could only acquire this or that, I would truly be happy?” And the moment we obtain our heart’s desire - we begin to search for something else, something greater. We want more. Coveting is the drive-train behind our dissatisfaction in life. And we know what God’s word on coveting. It is clear. “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.” - Exodus 20:17. Coveting gets us nothing but frustration and condemnation.   
    I have been to many a funeral and have never seen a hole dug large enough to bury the man and his possessions. There was no room for his expensive cars and toys. There was no room for his many relationships. There was no room for his successes or failures. There was no room for anything but him and his sin if he died unrepentantly. Are we all not the same? And what will we take out of this world that we did not bring into it? Our opinions? Our egos? I’m afraid a six-foot hole in the ground isn’t big enough. The fact is: we take nothing with us. “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” - Genesis 3:19.
    We are all constantly seeking; it is in our human nature to seek. But what we seek is what defines us both in the eyes of our fellow men and in the eyes of God. A self-aggrandizing man will be recognized by his contemporaries just as surely as a man who seeks God. So it is not the seeking that is wrong but what we in fact seek. “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.” - 1 Timothy 6:9.
    How often can a man set aside riches and possessions before he realizes that seeking such worldly assets will never bring him the joy that only God provides? Jesus even extolled the idea of heaven as a greater dominion than earthly wealth. “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” - Matthew 6:31-33. We have already been told that everything we receive in this lifetime comes from God. There is no confusion here. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” - James 1:17. No matter what it is, it comes to us exclusively from God, no matter what lies we are told by this world. “John answered, ‘A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.’” - John 3:27.
    If all providence is bestowed upon us by God then why would we worship anything or anyone else? Jesus Himself warned us of the consequences of placing too much emphasis on our worldly possessions and by implication, our desires for them. “And he said to them, ‘Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”- Luke 12:15.
    As fallen human beings we simply must keep focus on the things of this life that truly matter and not on those things we merely desire. We desperately need to discern between the things of this world and the things of God. “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.” - 1 John 2:16.
    We would all be wise to remember the advice of Jesus Christ - “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” - Matthew 6:19-21. Idolatry is truly a form of heart failure.