What We Want and What We Need

What we want is almost always the opposite of what we need.  This is true when it comes to just about everything.  The foods that we want; that taste good and bring us comfort are not the foods that we need for our bodies to be healthy.  When we want a new television and we don't have the cash, we want to make the purchase immediately on a credit card rather than save up the money first.  At the workplace, when we have something that we don't want to do, we put it at the bottom of our to do list for the day.

This is also true when it comes to our discipleship.  What we want is an image of God whose primary concern is our comfort, happiness, and material wealth.  And we want a Church that reflects this; a community that helps us be comfortable, happy, and materially successful.  And we see the goal of the Church as facilitating our eternal happiness; telling us what to do to be comfortable and to avoid punishment in the afterlife.

Paul says that this is the opposite of authentic discipleship.  Discipleship; following after the example of Christ and reflecting Christ in our belief and practice, means that we live as the servant of all people and that we place others' needs above our own needs. 

This is reflected in Paul's letter to the Philippians, where Paul quotes an early Christian hymn that appears to have been a predominant profession of faith in the early Church.  The confession states that we are to seek the mind of Christ, who was formed in the image of God, but intentionally chose to live as the servant of all people.  God's only thought in Christ was the redemption of the world.  Our only thought should be service to others.  Just like everything else in life, what is best for our souls is the exact opposite of what we immediately want.