Henry Luce, Professor of Urban Values at New York University, contending for the curbing of pornography, wrote: "Being frustrated is disagreeable, but the real disasters in life begin when you get what you want" (Where Do You Draw the Line).
I should like to make a broader application of this principle to the Christian. It is not so much what we have or do not have that gives us trouble. Rather, it is our wants. If we can control our wants, we will have disposed of most of our unhappiness growing out of our frustrations. Then, there is the added difficulty growing out of "getting what we want." The attainment of our wants often fails to measure up to our expectations. To the contrary, it compounds our unhappiness and frustrations.
A classic New Testament example of this is the Prodigal Son of our Lord's Parable (Luke 15:11-32). The Prodigal got what he wanted: his part of his father's estate. However, it did not bring to him the fulfillment and happiness which he thought it would bring. It brought temporary pleasure, but ultimate tragedy with bitter regret and degrading humiliation. It would be a tragedy if God always gave us what we ask in prayer!
~In Gospel Power, Anderson, Alabama, 5/2/99.