Tip of My Iceberg

photo courtesy of Frank van Hulst on Unsplash

I can’t stand Pinterest.

My girls got me interested in the various things that appear there that can actually be helpful. Things like recipes for people who are gluten-free and dairy-free, or what is acceptable to wear with tennis shoes to the office. You know, the important things.

But it also gives ideas on how to take care of yourself in ways I’ve never thought about. One thing was making hair softer and more manageable in a way that’s good for your locks. It sounded like a wise plan to me. I was to take a tablespoon of baking soda, mix it with enough water, and rinse my hair with it. Voila! The assurance of soft, manageable hair.

Well, if a teaspoon is good, wouldn’t a quarter cup be better?

I knew baking soda was good for getting laundry whiter, eliminating odors in garbage bags and cans, and whitening teeth. It seemed like a logical possibility that it could also soften hair.

It didn’t. Instead, it fried my hair, making it dry and brittle, feeling more like straw than hair. Why didn’t I understand this? Messing with the formula came with a cost. It can kill weeds, for goodness sake.

Of course, I could have followed instructions. A quarter cup is quite a bit more than one teaspoon. Is it an American philosophy that if a little is good, more is better?

It’s the human condition to want more than we have. Being satisfied with what is available to us never seems adequate enough. More feels better.

But is it?

Jesus taught a crowd of people about the benefits of trusting God to provide for them. A man cried from the audience, asking Jesus to tell this man’s brother to share their father’s estate with him. Under the laws of the time, the older brother received a double portion of the estate. The man wasn’t interested in Jesus’ teaching–he wanted his inheritance.

So Jesus shared the story of the rich fool. This man had a farm that produced fine crops. As he looked over his fields, he wondered how he’d fit all the food into his barns. He determined he would tear down his barns, build bigger ones, and store all his grain. “And I’ll sit back and say to myself, ‘My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’” Luke 12:19-20

Wanting and getting more for ourselves doesn’t make us rich; it makes us greedy. A truly rich life can only come from trusting God for what we need. Security won’t come from material wealth, but in the spiritual assurance of knowing Jesus, who forgives us for all that we do wrong.

All I wanted was more softening for my hair, believing I could get it by upping the amount of baking soda in the formula. Just as the rich fool’s greed cost him, my hair came out looking bedraggled and straw-like.

Contentment doesn’t come from more things. It comes from a deeper relationship with God through Jesus.

What are you looking at to satisfy your desires?