Article April 15, 1996 Issue

Having it all

Mario Tosto

"I Want it all!" proclaimed the button the young man was wearing. All of what? I wondered.

To want only material things like money, fame, physical power, and the like makes us vulnerable to changing conditions, to loss, and to a material view of life that is inherently limited and ultimately unsatisfying. The more materiality we get, the more limitation we get. This is a fact to which the Bible, great literature, and maybe even our own experiences can testify.

On the other hand, spiritual ideas are present in an inexhaustible supply because they express God's infinite nature. They are not made of matter and so are not limited. To want spiritual qualities such as intelligence, beauty, joy, and goodness is legistimate and worthy; in fact, it's impossible not to have them. We may need to make an effort to see this and to understand the many benefits of these spiritual things, but wanting nothing but them is the only way to have them—to have anything real. What's more, gaining spirituality does not deprive us of security or of the necessary things of life, because these qualities are evidenced in the supply we need.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Poem

A Reading Room librarian's warm invitation