Learn to distinguish between your needs and wants

We went to Mater Christi Church again last Sunday. It was a chilly morning and though the sun was up and shining magnificantly on us, we felt the chill in our bones...


It was another beautiful day and we were just taking in all that was happening around us when this family came by and sat at the pew in front of us. The grandparents brought their two little granddaughters and it was a joy watching them just being themselves. I was distracted by them for awhile until Father's sermon. What he said struck a raw nerve within me. He mentioned a story about this sick person who was told to stay indoors but he felt he really needed to go out and experience life. He finally went and he actually got better. He knew he needed it rather then justing wanting it.


It is really an art and skill to know what we really need and what we merely want. We need to learn to distinguish between our needs and wants. Catering for our needs make us better people while our wants make us unfulfilled and ironically, wanting more. Looking at my life, I find that more often than not, I seem to be catering to my wants rather than my needs. Many of my decisions are based mainly on money. It's like a vicisous cycle, on one hand wanting to earn more money so that I can purchase more stuff for myself and Angie, and in the future for our kids, and on the other hand wanting to save as much as I can for the future. It's like life being one big wheel revolving around earning, spending and saving dough. Not a very pleasant picture. It's like I'm missing out on life's real purpose, relationships and people above material things. This is especially so for those dear to me. I'm sure Angie can identify with this, me being insensitive to her feelings on most occassions.


It's going to be a long journey but I want to make it better. Where better to start than with my family. Help me Lord to know what my needs are rather than my wants and guide me through this learning process.