​​What are "Wants" Cost us

 
I was standing in line the other day and watching this kid throw a fit about not getting a candy bar. It brought back memories of my own kids at that age. Now it’s really fun because I get to watch my oldest daughter go through the same thing with my grandkids. I stand back and laugh at her and my son in law, but back to why I’m actually writing this. When I was watching this kid, I thought about as adults, don’t we do the same? We may not cry and stomp our feed, at least not in public anyway.  No, what we do is justify why we need it or argue a point to get what we want.  At what cost? Who are we hurting to get what we want when it’s not really what we need.  
 
Going back to my kids, do you know how many uneaten candy bars I have cleaned up in the back of the car? They thought they wanted it, but they really didn’t. They just argued (pithed a fit) until they received. We do this as adults.  Let me share with you my own experience. I wanted a job in Pharmaceuticals so bad because of the status and money. I did everything I could to put myself in this career path. I remember even telling God that if he allowed me to get in this industry I would be able to give more money to the church or even be able to help others. I was trying to negotiate with God. However, I did get that job but what it did it cost me. I was hardly at home because I was traveling or attending work dinners with doctors. Sometimes God step backs and say ok here you go just as we do with our own kids. Fast forward 2 years in the industry changed and I lost my Job. Oh, yea forgot to mention I bought a new house because that’s what we needed, or should I say what I wanted.
 
We are no different than our kids or the kids we see in a grocery store. Its only on a bigger playground. However, at this level we deal with regrets on a larger level. How many times have we heard folks say, “I regret _______” fill in the blank.  Regret always begins with “I want”. Ask yourself this question? What is that one thing you regret? Now, ask yourself what was that thing you wanting that caused that regret? I hear this when I talk with people who have gone through a divorce. Each person wanted something within the marriage but they were not on the same page of their “wants”. 
 
There is nothing wrong with wanting something the problem is when our want doesn’t line up with what God wants for us. Our Father knows what is best for us, but we want things now. This is one of the reasons AMAZON is a billon dollar company. We don’t like waiting. 
 
Let’s look at:
 James 4:1-3: What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. 
 
As it says in verse 1, “wants” causes fight and wars. We have all experienced conflicts over our wants. God is telling us here that we should be asking Him, because he know best. The only thing is that we can’t see that when we are allowing our wants to blur what God wants for us. So always remember this “You’ll never get what you really want until you discover what you really value.”