She was from a humble background, and she was determined to change the course of her destiny. She persevered in her academic pursuit and attained sterling results, which led her to a good career. By her late twenties, she already had her own luxury home and car. What she lacked was a life partner. That worried her, so she began to pay attention to her appearance. She dressed herself up and had plastic surgery to make herself look more attractive.
Like it or not, that is the world’s definition of success; wealth, power, looks, social status and family. These worldly achievements will never truly satisfy, as contentment is never in the DNA of the fallen human race. Once we have acquired a high-enough income, we feel that that is not enough; we desire to move up the corporate ladder. Once we have attained that, we feel that that is not enough; we wish for a compatible life partner. Again, after that, we want to have children, and the list goes on and on, leading us to pursuit after pursuit, which the wise King Solomon likens it to ‘vanity and pursuit of the wind’ (Ecclesiastes 1:14).
Jesus knows this very well. Early in His ministry, in part of His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:25-32), Jesus taught His followers to live a life that was different from that of the pagans. He taught them to let go of unnecessary concerns but to trust in God’s unwavering love and provision instead.
Why do we worry? Why do we fret? Why do we stress ourselves out, over things when our Father, the One who made the world and everything in it, has told us in His Word that He knows what we need even before we ask Him? And if He takes care of the birds and lilies, He will surely take care of us. Jesus wants us to change the focus of our pursuit. He wants us to pursue the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and live in submission to His sovereignty, and He will provide all our needs (Matthew 6:33).
The greatest and best thing we can think about is our soul and our eternal happiness. That is the one thing we need the most. It is the best pursuit. “… but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42).
We will never be content with our temporal worldly pursuits because we were not created for that but for an eternal purpose.