Success or nothing

Ask yourself all of the things you wish to have, and calculate the bill. I think its fair to assume that your bill is over one million dollars without the addition of gratuity yet. Every time we turn on our television or look at our browser homepage there is a new product on the market that usually requires us to extend beyond our budgets to purchase them. If you travel backward, from primary school days I'm sure many may recall playing the game MASH which everyone wanted their luck to fall on "M" which meant that they would live in a mansion; house (H) was satisfying however landing on the "S' was never an option as it meant you would reside in a shack. Fast forward a little to high school when it was time to explore career options. Often times, speaking from personal experiences, we disregard our passion for practicality. For example, many young Bahamians would disregard the desire to study art or social work in college because these are the careers that are not "successful." Of course by successful, we simply imply that they do not achieve the net six figure salary that is needed to acquire the house, much less the mansion. Therefore, one consequence of success' definition today is the deterrence it becomes to pursuing true passions in careers.

As humans we seem to have an ever growing void that increases because we try to fill it in with the world. With this is mind, doesn't the definition of success tend to shift as we draw closer to its previous definition? One of today's most popular rappers, Drake, hit song entitled "Successful" brings one of the clearest definitions possible. He plainly states "I want the money, money and the cars, cars and the clothes, I suppose, I just wanna be... successful." On that note material possessions now become the next method by which we gauge success. But at what cost to ourselves and those around us? We are no longer satisfied by a car that takes us from point A to point B without being killed by excess carbon monoxide or hypothermia. Sincere apologies to the poor chap who did not realize that we live in an era in which our cars must be voice automated, able to make phone calls and change the song currently playing through the stereo. Do not mistake me for believing that we should not enjoy the "finer things in life" however, are they really necessary? Why should the car we drive determine our level of success rather than the difference we made in the life of another human being? We have become so success driven that we have been blinded to one of the essential messages throughout Jesus' entire ministry. I say this especially because we as Seventh Day Adventists, more often than not, read the same dictionary in the library of the world than we would wish to admit. Nevertheless, we have become selfish and inconsiderate people subconsciously. Although we may not be the primary cause behind poverty and hunger in our societies, we must ask ourselves when was the last time we tried to assist in its alleviation.

In the terrible plot written film of 2009 "Drag me to Hell," a young bank worker had the option to extend the mortgage period for a single elderly woman or reject the extension, save the bank excess money and be promoted to assistant branch manager. The decision she made is quite obvious from the film's title as she was cursed and the movie goes on. More importantly, this is a blatant example of what I find to be the most prevalent consequence of today's definition of success and namely its correspondence with wealth as Veblen describes. This situation may seem similar to making the choice between purchasing a new purse to add to your collection or purchasing can goods to donate to the local salvation army. However, the difference comes in the fact that even when we are given an obvious chance to help someone else we do what we assume is best for our own preservation. But what are we really preserving other than our greed and materialism? In other words, because we want to be, as Drake said, "successful" there is no other alternative in life than to do just that. It is quite alarming when we begin to ponder about our very own ideas about success and realize that we may be leaning towards the very same things we claim as Christians to despise. Honestly, who wants nothing when they can have success? :/

Filling the Void

The concept that ‘purposeful effort’ means working towards more wealth really describes the human condition quite well. This is true assuming we don’t hold a terribly tight definition on wealth, but think of it as more than what I had earlier or more than he or she has. This loose definition of wealth is really at the crux of most activities.

I try to live my life to make a positive difference in the world and help other people. If I tell myself that this is the only reason I am loosing sleep to finish up all that work, I am not being entirely truthful. In reality, a lot of what I do, and I would guess the majority of Americans, is aimed at making myself look and/or feel better, or to bring pleasure to my living experience. If through this I can improve the lives of other people it comes as an added bonus. Although I may not be explicitly flaunting the things I have in what I do, the underlying reason, although several rationales distant, can often be brought back to a prime objective of ‘make me better’. So we then ask, “How do I make myself better? With this question we start looking for answers. The world provides so many options that we get lost in trying them all. The bible is possibly the greatest positive source at showing us that there is much more beyond the present state of being. This sort of longing for more I believe is wired into human nature. God programmed us to long for Him.

The problem that so much of the world faces is that they long for God, but substitute other gods/things which are not capable of fulfilling the longing. Thus we need more in our attempt to fill the void that only God can fill.

Where we are wired with this longing, it is natural that we purpose to fill the void with the wrong things, namely stuff and material wealth. Global economies and marketing departments help by providing all sorts of things to throw into this void. None of these solutions lasts, since filling a void that an infinite God fits in, is impossible without that God.

I realize that this idea may not directly address the topic from the perspective that Veblen wished. It does, I believe, help me see why people who really know Jesus and have God in their hearts seem to be really happy and satisfied people even though they don’t have much stuff. If the ‘God void’ in one’s life actually has God, then one can stop trying to satisfy the void and look around at others and genuinely help them out. On the other hand though, if there is a gaping hole in one’s life, most of one’s purposeful effort will be directed at filling the hole, which usually amounts to ‘a more credible showing of accumulated wealth’ just as Veblen said.