Gotta Havit Now!

What's our problem? The economy nearly crashed in 2008 and there was a reason behind it. That reason is "I've gotta havit now!" People who could not afford homes were able to buy homes thanks to our misguided government in it's attempt to make everyone have equal outcomes without regard to equal abilities! Before long many of those people were "underwater"; their mortgage exceeded the value of the home. Others got rich because they bought homes at a fraction of their value when those homes were sold by the financiers at a fraction of their value. Hence, the government intending to equalize incomes made the differential even greater!

Hope Yen of the Associated Press (2011) says the "wealth gap" between young and old is 47:1.  The housing bust is responsible for this wide gap. It's because of the "Gotta havit now syndrome":

In all, 37% of younger-age households have a net worth of zero or less, nearly double the share in 1984. But among households headed by a person 65 or older, the percentage in that category has been largely unchanged at 8%.
For young adults, the main asset is their home. Their housing wealth dropped 31% 1984, the result of increased debt and falling home values. In contrast, Americans 65 or older were more likely to have bought homes long before the housing boom and thus saw a 57% gain in housing wealth even after the bust.

Yes, people "gotta havit now"! That's why fast food is so popular! Why wait when we "can gettit now!" Many of us are impatient when fast food isn't delivered fast enough.  We drink instant coffee, eat instant oatmeal and get movies on television as they hit the big screen. The entertainment industry knows that many Americans "gotta havit now"!

Why would a person want to wait when they can have it now? Couples in their twenties buy homes more expensive than their parents who may have worked for years before they splurged. Young people drive Lexus cars when the older ones drive Chevy's! It's not that the young have good jobs, they have good "plastic". Lenders will give credit to those who can't wait because that's how the make money; off high interest.  People use credit cards to pay off other credit cards so they "can havit it now"! People just can't wait. They are impatient to have! That at one time was called "keeping up with the Jones", but I would venture to say that it's now closer to "keeping up with the Kardashians"!

Furthermore, people tire of what they have and want what others have. One couple I knew would buy a new care each time I did and when I bought a new home, they bought a better one! I had the money; they didn't! Not being happy with what one owns can be troublesome! Whereas, money in the savings provides security, most people spend it without regard to later days. We can't count on prosperity lasting forever because it never has!  One medical bill can wipe out an entire life savings!  Does having equate to happiness?

Some people believe happiness is having occasions of pleasure.  I submit that true happiness is being content with your life, what you have, your health and having a future; both temporal and eternal. The biggest t difference is that the former strive to increase those instances of pleasure and the latter appreciate the happiness that they already have! Although everyone would enjoy more happiness a truly happy person doesn't dwell on displeasure for if they do, they're not truly happy. They lie to themselves and their happiness is a ruse, fooling even themselves!

We know how popular Phil Robertson has made the phrase "Happy! Happy! Happy!" and I believe he truly is!  He has reason to be happy. He never sought earthly happiness, but achieved it by seeking something better than happiness. The essence of happiness is lack of trouble! That's why this passage is so important:

John 14:1 "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me."

This is an indirect way of saying "Believe in me (Jesus) and be happy!" I believe Phil Robertson is "happy, happy, happy" because he's content with what he has! Yes, he's now a millionaire, but even the casual observer can see that Phil is happy for another reason and was even happy before he became wealthy.

Phil is content.  Here's why:

1 Timothy 6:6 "But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."

Contentment is not an antonym for motivation! Those who're motivated seek contentment!  Contentment is not operationalized by the pecuniary. Contentment is a "state of being" and is sort of "consistent joy"! Joy is had because peace we have!  Inner peace to be sure. That inner peace is what God provides because we are living for him; godliness!

Paul told Timothy "we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out". This statement is a forerunner to the rhetorical question "You don't see many U-Hauls behind hearses do you?" What I had coming in I have going out! This is "God's Law of Conservation of Reality" (my definition)! Oh, why do we try to accumulate so much for others to have when we're gone? Others get what we have because "God's Law of Conservation of Realty" can't be broken! It stands for each; it stands for all!

From a personal standpoint I too enjoy having!  Oftentimes when I shop, I put much into my shopping cart. At other times I stand and desire what I see on the store shelves. I've been known to leave my shopping cart with it's contents as I exit the store. More often I leave my desires on the shelf as I move on empty handed. I pass by the pastry shelves at the IGA, contemplate on how good the pastries would be, but leave with only pleasant memories. If I had actually bought what my heart desired that desire comes with baggage! Pastries have high sugar content, are high in fat and are temporary pleasures.

Cars are not unlike that. Homes aren't either! Luxury cars and homes are the pastries of malcontents. Happiness lies not in having fancy cars and luxury homes, but having peace with not having, because along withe having comes collateral damage: payments, fear of loss, misplaced priorities and maybe even loss of friends because of he rivalry between "haves" and "have nots".

Paul keeps saying it better than I can:

Philippians 4:11 "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."

We can desire! That in itself is no sin. I desire contentment. I desire peace:

John 16:33 "These things I (Jesus) have spoken unto you, that in me (Jesus) ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."

Jesus is the source of contentment. He's there for you whenever you quit seeking peace elsewhere! The one time that a malcontent is correct in "gotta havit now" is "gotta have Jesus now"! I've tried the alternatives, now it's Jesus. 

2 Corinthians 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

Why wait for peace? Why way for contentment. If you're not "saved" then "now is the day of salvation"!  If you're still not content, what went wrong? Salvation is more than a fleeting moment. It's a re-prioritization of what's important! It's being content with what you have; with what God provided. It's the notion that if you suddenly won a million dollars, you're happy with what God has already given you! 

Proverbs 30:8 "Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me..."

God blesses, but he blesses with "needs" not "wants". People say "I deserve a new car!" No you don't. You "want a new car", but be content if God blesses you with  a reliable used car! That's the car you need! The same goes with homes and anything else. Our wants exceed our needs and that's the cause of inner turmoil; that lack of peace!