(first written January 22, 2024)
Pilgrims on earth. Pilgrims in a world we should “not love,” full of “vanity of vanities” we should not lay ourselves up for its treasures. Misinterpreted, these verses can even a faithful Christian devolve into a nihilistic outlook on our earth life, thinking “what’s the point” of trying hard if this isn’t our forever home. Once I realized that true peace came from Christ only, I felt lost in day-to-day life—accepting that I would find no satisfaction in achievements or healthy escapism because my life seemed directionless.
1 John 2:15-17 King James Version 15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
As the preacher wrote in Ecclesiastes 1:2-11, “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. 3 What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? 4 A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.”
Hebrews 11:13-16 KJV These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal” (Matthew 6:19-21)
However, our meaning on this earth stems from what has the breath of life—and rejoicing in that life and in God. Not from some grand noble purpose or legacy we’re supposed to discover and then seek. Meaning is in feeling, not achieving. It’s in the simple moments in life. Not in thinking, what’s the point of celebrating this, we’re just pilgrims on earth for a finite time? No, you see, earth life being finite doesn’t lessen its meaning.
It’s the sentiment behind this line in the ancient Greek poem, The Iliad
“Any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we’re doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again.”
― Homer, The Iliad
The call is to not become worldly, not to feel anhedonia or directionless. Biblical figures truly in touch with the Holy Spirit, who rested in faith, experienced joy in their lives. They sung out to God.
It is sort of a coping mechanism for feeling scared about the passage of time, for not being in a faith community, or experiencing loneliness.
Life is a gift from God we can appreciate not in a larger-scale narrative we can only unlock meaning from once we justify our Christian worth through works or some impactful “heroic” legacy of our own calling, but in every small moment. In every small moment spent with loved ones. In every moment spent with God, in the Word, in prayer.
Carnal worldly pleasures will always leave you feeling empty chasing an ever shifting shore of ‘arrival.’Peace truly isn’t a place, status symbol, escapism, another vocation, a dopamine chase, vice or an object to be coveted. Treasures of this earth leave us feeling empty. It’s a mentality. It’s not being reliant on external factors to feel confident in the spirit which works within us. It’s not being reliant on external factors to feel confident in the Spirit which works within us. Peace is faith in Christ. The arrival fallacy entraps us, but here’s a guide on how to escape it.
To think happiness — an ephemeral response—-is a purchase, drink, night, trip, job, degree, or bank account balance digit away, is to have confidence in the flesh & all the things on earth which turn to dust. Dopamine chases are not the answer—consumerism and achievement bring no satisfaction. This is because many people live their lives in what in psychology is called an “existential vacuum,” as coined by writer, psychologist and holocaust survivor Alfred Adler. This feeling of emptiness and meaningless stems from not having a purpose to derive meaning from. He teaches that “freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibleness.” Adler proposes that, “ there are three main avenues on which one arrives at meaning in life. The first is by creating a work or by doing a deed. The second is by experiencing something or encountering someone; in other words, meaning can be found not only in work but also in love.”
One must anchor our purpose externally in the breath of life—in helping others instead of on the self-edifying, dopamine hamster wheel. Your purpose isn’t creating yourself, it’s loving others, and loving God.
Meaning Is the ‘Why’ Not the ‘How’
“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche
The ends, not the means, sometimes give our lives meaning. So never let anyone dissuade you from honorable conventional goals that you feel called to—the better ends they produce are a worthy, meaningful path. Conventional goals can be a means to an end; with the end, not the means producing the meaning. Supporting a family and helping others through a conventional job is one of the greatest accomplishments someone can achieve—the meaning lays in love. Find your ‘why’ and you’ll find your way.
Choose your own path. If you detach your meaning from carnal, wordly goals then you are free to pursue passions without fear of failure because even failure has no bearing on your sense of worth. We are here as children of God to learn and live Jesus’ teachings, and focus on all that has the breath of life, not worldly things. Our worth is inherent as children of God—not defined by carnal measures. There is freedom in Christ, our meaning stems from being His children.
Peace, meaning, and joy aren’t a place, status symbol, vocation, escapist vice, dopamine chase, or coveted material item away. Peace is a mentality, it is full assurance in the Lord Jesus Christ. If you’re left feeling empty no matter what, it’s because the treasures of this earth will never fill the void that only the peace Christ has blessed us with can. As the preacher wrote in Ecclesiastes 1:2-11, “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. 3 What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? 4 A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.”
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27)
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal” (Matthew 6:19-21)
The arrival fallacy is an illusion that once we make it, we will achieve true happiness, according to psychology expert Tal Ben-Shahar, who coined the term. It’s why even very successful people might struggle with mental health issues, before making it they lived with hope of “making it” being the key to happiness. But after “making it” they find that that wasn’t the solution.
Achievement is not happiness. Life is what happens while you’re waiting for your “real life” to start. Living in the past or future robs your every day. You hold great light inside you, have inherent worth and are always becoming. Live in the moment, one day you’ll look back and realize how truly great those moments were. Engulf yourself in the present, cherish the journey, center yourself around what matters — not checklists or objects— the breath of life all around you.
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
Ch. 9 – Living in the Present
The fourth dimension—time. One of the most valuable concepts we have in our earthly life, only seems to speed up as we age, and a year becomes a smaller fraction of our lives. Entire lives are sometimes spent away in the future or past, instead of in every present moment. People spend their days ruminating or eternally seeking an ever-shifting gilded shore we promise ourselves contains true happiness, that contains our “real” lives. The present is all that is real and happiness isn’t elsewhere—that is the arrival fallacy.
Life is what happens while you’re waiting for your “real life” to start. The present is all that is real. Start now, start where you are. Lying in the past or future robs your every day. In ten years what will you regret more — trying and failing, or not trying and never knowing? Don’t let fear block you from your unlived potential.
Suffering of past mistakes or future anxiety is suffering in memory or imagination. Stop robbing your every second over the past and future which don’t exist now, only the present does. You can’t hate yourself into who you want to be and you can’t ruminate or stress your way out of a problem. Don’t punish yourself over mistakes of the past if you didn’t know any better don’t dwell. Living in the past robs your everyday, so accept what you can’t change and change what you can’t accept. Your current situation is not your destination, so look towards your goals not the unchangeable past.
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