I like to think of myself as a domestically competent person. I have lived on my own long enough to keep myself from starving. I assumed that a dishwasher would be a fairly straightforward test. I was wrong.
My apartment did not have a dishwasher, which forced me to wash my dishes by hand. This was not a task I enjoyed, so the aftermath of my meals tended to settle in my sink for extended periods of time. To avoid this unpleasant task, I would often visit my parents and use their dishwasher. The freedom to simply place a dirty plate in a machine and push a button to clean it was almost too good to be true! However, I soon faced an unforeseen problem; I ran out of detergent.
I began to search frantically for an alternative. Several different cleaners of various sorts crowded the cupboard beneath the sink, yet none of them were adequate. Finally, I came across a bottle of dish soap and breathed a sigh of relief. The soap was in liquid form, while the previous detergent had been a powder, but surely that did not matter. I confidently filled the dispenser, pushed the start button and walked away as the machine hummed to life. Several minutes later I returned to the kitchen, and noticed something peculiar. There was white foam cresting the top of the kitchen island like an ocean’s shore. I ran to the other side and my jaw dropped: soap suds were pouring from the top of the dishwasher and running down to pile on the hardwood floor! The white bubbles framed the machine, giving it a big Santa Claus beard. Having no way to remove the liquid soap from the inside of the appliance, I was forced to spend the next thirty minutes mopping up soapy water. So much for my replacement.
We are all looking for fulfillment. We seek contentment in our relationships, in our work, in our recreation and in every other aspect of our lives. Indeed, there seems to be no area which is unaffected by our need for gratification. But where are we seeking this? The Bible teaches that God not only knows what is best for my life, but wants what is best for my life. However, I often find myself seeking to fulfill my desires apart from God, and it leaves me desperately unsatisfied. This should not surprise me, since we were created to be in a relationship with God. To try and replace that relationship with anything else will not work! Nothing can act as a replacement for God since there is nothing else like Him. When areas in my life seem to be falling apart, it is likely because they are no longer serving their created purpose: to give glory to God through a personal relationship. If I have replaced God with an alternative indulgence, ruin can only be expected.
“…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death…” Phil. 3:10
Mike Blackaby is 25 years old and is the college and young adult pastor at First Baptist Church in Jonesboro, GA. Mike loves to play music, loves to snowboard, play hockey, and cheers for the Colorado Avalanche. He is terrified of spiders, but loves reading fantasy novels, watching movies, taking road trips, building camp fires, and will do any roller coaster if someone goes with him. You can contact him via Facebook.