Novelty
It would seem to me that all of humanity shares a common need, outisde those most obvious (food, shelter, water), which I find surprising. The need for novelty; which, following the fall in the garden, results in the propensity toward boredom. This need, and it’s consequential futility, can be seen everywhere I look. The thousands of ice-cream flavors. The shopping habits of females. The way a man will float from woman to woman. So often we are fully prepared to diagnose the problem…boredom. But I believe our best attempts at a cure are suppressive and denial. The real matter is people have an insatiable desire for novelty. It cannot be suppressed without negitive consequences. It cannot be blotted out. It cannot be denied. It cannot even be satisfied. Is this, then, an excuse for a woman to find fulfillment in a new blouse every week because she can’t find anything in her closet to wear, or a man to commit adultery against his wife because he was bored with her? Certainly not. These are symptoms of a deeper problem–a pure God-created need is not being met. Yes, I am suggesting this need for novelty was God’s design. So then, following in accordance with scripture which says all things are from Him and to Him and through Him, this insatiable need for novelty is from Him and must also be met in Him and through Him. An infinite God with glories and beauty and adventures unsearchable is the only true cure for our need. It is quite ironic to be given a need that cannot be met; which, in fact, works itself in a circle. However, the God who put it in us had a clear purpose that we should meet this need in Him alone. For, being eternal as He is, there is no end to Him. We will never encounter His finale. We can search Him forever more and be completely fulfilled (ironically) in our insatiable need for novelty. He is new and fresh every morning. So rather than subcoming to boredom and seeking novelty in all the wrong places, we can seek God and save ourselves from false satisfaction. The next time you find yourself wanting a next dress or a new woman, consider that perhaps you may be in need of a healthy helping of God’s newness.
In the words of C.S. Lewis, “further in and further up.”
