You're Never Satisfied...

Last night, I had an interesting, and shocking quite frankly, conversation with an "old flame." I asked how he was, and his response once again could be summed up in one sentence- "life sucks." A sentence he'd been giving since day one. He is an older gentlemen (just a year shy of his 30s) and basically not satisfied with where he's at in life right now. Out of respect for his privacy, I won't disclose the list of complaints that he gave, but they were things that he did not have the power to change, or he was not proactive enough in changing it. Because there is much that he wants but hasn't got, he's tried to talk to God more in hopes that it'll pay off in the end. " I mean, I pray everyday, I read my prayer book, I read the Bible, what else does God want me to do??"

Whoa.

I told him that just because he did all of those things, that didn't make him a better Christian ONLY because he wasn't doing it for the right reasons. While there is no "right" reason in particular to pray, I'm pretty sure God wouldn't appreciate someone coming before him to pray for material things ONLY. He spent a good half hour arguing that he wasn't praying for material possessions, before finally conceding to my accusations. Not before a final statement: "Well, I look at being a Christian as having a job. What's the point of doing the work if you're not gonna get paid?"




Dear readers, I could tell you where the argument went after that, but that would be pages long. Regardless, I was able to conclude from the argument that he is someone who will never be satisfied. One of those people who can have all of the riches of the world only to scoff at them.

" Aside from a job, money, and a house, what is it that you really want -------?" I asked.

"I just want to be happy."

"Well I'll pray for your happiness."

"Nah, but then I don't have anyone to share it with."

You catch my drift?

So what do I do with someone who should have been disposed from my life months ago? The correct answer would be: get rid of 'im. However, I'm having an internal conflict with ignoring someone who is crying out for help, and contemplates death as a better alternative to living.

What would you do?