"For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him."
In Aristotle's Doctrine of the Mean, he writes about happiness being attained when moderation is met. Like Plato, he states that each person has a purpose, and when he or she is functioning within the realm of that purpose, they can be truly happy. (Note: The happiness referred to here is not the pursuit of pleasure, but an inner peace or joy.) To Aristotle, happiness was the utlimate end in life. This could be best achieved through self-realization and contemplation. According to him, these activities were an end in themselves and thus were more pure than the pursuit of sensual (or physical) things.
According to the word of God, the ultimate end is to know God. "I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. (Jer. 31:33-34)"
I was thinking after reading my philosophy text, (hopefully that's what most would do.) There are many people who get what they think they wanted and are still unhappy. What if we don't want what we think we want. Ask yourself, "Why do I want that new job, or car, or spouse, or to change churches, or _______________." (Fill in the blank) There has to be a reason we as a people are rarely satisfied with what we have. Aristotle states that,"we are naturally more inclined toward pleasures, and this makes us more prone toward licentiousness than towards temperance." Learn to hear the voice of God and let him ask the tough questions. Learn to ask yourself the tough questions? Why am I not content with what I have? Why am I unhappy in my family, or with my job? Why do I continually spend more than I make and have nothing to show for it?
Your Father in heaven knows what you need. Trust Him with your life, your joy, your family, your job, your finances. The Israelites came out of bondage with great wealth and numbers. Joseph went from his father's favorite to a life of slavery in Egypt. From there he went to prison, and from there was made second only to Pharoah.
Esther went from motherless child to the mother of Israel. Jesus went from the throne of heaven to the cross at Calvary. Thus we have gone from slaves to sin to heirs with God. Whatever circumstance you're in, God is only using it to bring you into the place where you can be who he purposed you to be. The mean, the moderation is this..."Be constant, in season and out of season." Do this, know God, and you will be like a tree, planted by rivers of water, whose leaf with neither wither nor fade.
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It all comes down to knowing God. David said "Give me neither poverty nor riches ... but feed me with food convenient for me." I always get antsy praying for things - we should let God choose for us. That said, I have to add that there's nothing wrong with trying to better your lot in life; that's why he gave us a brain and two arms with hands at the end.
He's a good God, so He's going to bring us into what He has for us. He's a powerful God, so He can do it. He's a loving God, so what He brings us into will be the best thing for us.
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