This is true at both societal and personal levels. While our privileges are at an all-time high, so is our unhappiness.
The reason for this is simple – we do not know God.
We need God
Nothing this world has to offer can ever truly satisfy us. The Bible tells us, “man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3).
This demonstrates the dignity of all human beings – we were made to have a purpose that transcends this world. We were made to worship God and live in fellowship with Him forever.
If we stray from fulfilling our purpose, we experience spiritual death which ruins our whole being. As a tree is meant to live in the earth, and a fish is meant to live in water, so we are meant to live in relationship with God.
We are far from God
But we are not naturally in a relationship with God – by our own choice. The prophet Isaiah said, “your iniquities [sins] have separated you from your God” (Isaiah 59:2).
When we do something that is wrong, we are not just hurting ourselves or other people, we are refusing God’s rule in our lives. We are rejecting and rebelling against our Creator.
By doing this, we are wilfully separating ourselves from the One who can give us the unconditional love and everlasting peace that we need. A life without God is a life without joy.
God loves us
In spite of our sinfulness and rebellion against God, He still loves us. He still wants a relationship with us.
To make this possible, He has given us the ultimate demonstration of His love: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Jesus did not come primarily as an example, but as a saviour. He did not come merely to show us how to live, He came to die for us so we could have eternal life: “the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).
Through faith in God’s Son, and His death for our sin on the cross, our broken relationship with God can be fixed. There is freedom and forgiveness through trusting in Jesus.
