One of the great illusions under which we labor is that if we only get just one more thing from this world, then we will be happy. Perhaps we think that if we just had a little more money, or a better job, or the latest iPhone, or if we were married to so-and-so, or if we lived in a better neighborhood, then we would be satisfied and content at last. But “at last” never seems to come even if we do get some of the things on our list. As Ecclesiastes puts it, The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing (Ecc 1:8). Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income (Ecc. 5:8).
Although we realize this deep down, we continue to fall for the lie again and again. We think that just one more thing will do the trick. So we lay out the money and spend the time. And then the delight lasts twenty minutes at most! The world just can’t close the deal.
There is a joke (a parable, in my mind) that illustrates the endless treadmill the world has us on and how it continually seduces us into wanting just one more thing. In the end, this leads us to neglect the one thing most necessary.
There was a lonely man who thought that perhaps buying pet would ease his loneliness. So he went to the pet store and looked at many animals. He found himself drawn to one in particular. The sign over the cage said, “Talking Parrot: Guaranteed to talk.” Thinking that this would surely solve his problem, the man brought the cage up to the merchant at the counter.
“That’ll be $250, please.”
A week later the man returned, disappointed.
“This parrot isn’t talking!”
“You mean to say that he didn’t climb the ladder and talk?”
“Ladder? You didn’t tell me about a ladder!”
“Oh, sorry. The ladder is $10.”
So the man bought the ladder, brought it home, and put it in the cage. Another week went by and the man returned to the pet store.
“This parrot still isn’t talking!”
“You mean to say that he didn’t climb the ladder, look in the mirror, and talk?”
“Mirror? You didn’t mention anything about a mirror!”
“Oh, sorry. It’ll be $10 for the mirror.”
So the man bought the mirror, brought it home, and put it in the cage along with the ladder. Another week went by and the man returned to the pet store again.
“This parrot still isn’t talking!”
“You mean to say that he didn’t climb the ladder, look in the mirror, peck the bell, and talk?”
“Bell? You didn’t say anything about a bell!”
“Oh, sorry. The bell is $10.”
So the man bought the bell, brought it home, and put it in the cage along with the ladder and the mirror. Yet another week went by and the man returned to the pet store.
“This parrot still isn’t talking!”
“You mean to say that he didn’t climb the ladder, look in the mirror, peck the bell, jump on the swing, and talk?”
“Swing? You didn’t tell me about a swing!”
“Oh, sorry. It’ll be $10 for the swing.”
So the man bought the swing, brought it home, and put it in the cage along with the ladder, the mirror, and the bell. One more week went by and the man returned to the pet store again.
“How’s your parrot?”
“He’s dead!”
“Dead? Did he ever talk before he died?”
“Yes, he did finally talk.”
“What did he say?”
“He said, ‘Don’t they sell any birdseed at that store?’”
Lesson 1: Promises, Promises
The world and the “prince of this world” are always promising results, yet when those results aren’t forthcoming there are only more demands. First the bird, then the ladder, the bell, the mirror, and the swing. There is always just one more thing that’s needed before the perfect result comes! But it’s a lie. The lie comes in many forms: you just need one more accessory, or the upgraded version of the app, or just one more drink, or a newer car, or a bigger house, or a face lift, or bariatric surgery. Yes, you just need one more thing and then you’ll be there. Happiness is always just past the next purchase.
In speaking to the woman at the well, Jesus said, Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again (Jn 4:13). And that is the sober truth about this world: it cannot finally quench our thirst, which is a thirst for God and Heaven. But time and time again we go back to the world and listen to the same lie, thinking that this time it will be different.
Surely it is sensible to make use of the things of this world to aid us in accomplishing our basic duties, but they are not the answer to our deeper needs. The big lie is that they are the answer. And when they fail to satisfy us, the lie just gets bigger, declaring that just a little more of it will surely close the deal.
Lesson 2: The One Thing Most Necessary
In buying the ladder, mirror, bell, and swing, the man neglected the most important thing: food. So, too, for us. We seek to accumulate worldly toys and trinkets that are passing, while neglecting eternal and lasting realities. We seem to find time for TV, sports, shopping, etc., but neglect or completely forget about prayer, Scripture, the Sacraments, the Liturgy, worship, and the development of any kind of relationship with the Lord. We are staring into the mirror focused on our own self. The enticements of this world summon us to endless things, mostly trivial in the long run. We are climbing the ladder of success without regard as to what is at the top of that ladder.
All of these less important matters divert us from the one thing necessary: feeding our souls on the Lord. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him…the one who feeds on me will live because of me (Jn 6:56-58).
Ah, but there’s no time for all that. Getting to Mass, praying, receiving Holy Communion? No time! I hear a bell summoning me to just one more diversion, one more meeting. I’m too busy climbing the ladder of success. I’m too busy looking at myself in the mirror to make sure that I fit in, and that everyone likes me.
“Dead? Did he ever talk before he died?”
“Yes, he did finally talk.”
“What did he say?”
“He said, ‘Don’t they sell any birdseed at that store?’”
Just a little parable on the lies of the devil and the empty promises of this world.
Nero, I have read, having burnt Rome and it’s Christians, having completed his new block long villa built on the ashes of Rome, and having entered pronounced, “Now at last I can live like a human being!”
Do you mean like that, Msgr. Pope?
A senator from Illinois sold a horse to a senator from New York for $100 and said he would bring it over the next day. He came by the next day only without the horse. The New York senator asked, “Where’s the horse?” The Illinois senator said, “The horse died.” The senator from New York said, “Well give my money back.” The senator from Illinois said, “Can’t do that. I already spent the money.” The New York senator thought a minute and then said, “Well bring me the dead horse.” The senator from Illinois asked,”Why do you want a dead horse?” The New York senator said, “I’ll raffle it off through my charity foundation but I won’t tell anyone it’s dead.” A month later the Illinois senator ran into the senator from New York at the capital building and asked,” Whatever happend with that dead horse?” The senator from New York said, “I raffled it off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars a piece and made $998.” The Illinois senator asked,”Didn’t anyone complain?” The other senator replied, “Just the guy that won so I gave him his money back.”
In this materialistic world, knowing and living this is SO hard, not as much because it is hard to resist the temptation to fall for the lie, but mostly because of family and acquaintances who have bought into the lie hook-line-and-sinker.
The problem is that they compare – they compare their house to yours, their job to yours, their car to yours, their furnishings, computer, tv, kids, pets, even their phone – you name it, they compare theirs to yours (or your lack of the thing they have), and you always fall short. And they think that, in itself, makes them better. They think it proves they are better. They have the best (or better than you at least). They have what you want (they think). As a result, they either hold you in contempt or pity you. And if you ignore them and live your own life, they talk as if you are 1) a loser, or 2) stupid. It is SO hard. (Their children are the worst, because they will come right out and voice the negative comparison to your face, not being subtle enough yet to say it behind your back.)
To live chasing the material world hoping for happiness is ludicrous to me. But living with others who don’t see any other way brings unhappiness too – since, at best, there is just a superficial relationship with them and, at worst, their unkind comparisons are hurtful. And in this modern age, there are very few people who reject the world and live the life of the spirit.
What to do? I thank God every day for everything He gives me and for the good things that happen to me, however small. (Thank you God the rain held off until I got into the store!) I pray for their conversion, and offer up the suffering of not having them as friends. I fight and resist any temptation toward envy, and I maintain my peace, confident God is sufficient, and in the end, all will be righted.