“... or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.” – Exodus 20:17 (CEB)
Here is the insight that changes everything. We almost never actually want the thing. We don’t want our neighbor’s house; we want the security we imagine living there would give us. We don’t want their success; we want the feeling of having finally arrived. We are not chasing the stuff. We are chasing a story about who we would be if we had it.
That is why getting the thing never satisfies. The story was never true, so the ache returns, and we go looking again. But it also means the cure was never about acquiring more. The thing we are really hungry for, to be secure, to be enough, to be loved, is something only God gives, and gives freely. Today, when you want something badly, ask what you are really reaching for. You may find God already holding it out to you.
God, underneath all my wanting is a hunger only you can fill. Stop me from chasing stories that were never true, and satisfy me with yourself. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.