You know the story of Alexander the Great who after conquering the whole known world wept because there was no more world to conquer. And, you remember the answer Rockefeller gave when asked how much money is enough. He replied a little more than I have. Being the ruler of the whole world or being one of the richest men in the world was not enough. They were not satisfied.

Americans are much the same. We belong to a prosperous, strong nation with great opportunity for wealth, position, entertainment, and privilege, yet we have the most divorces, suicides, therapists, mental hospitals, crime, and juvenile delinquency. We multiply, we increase, we have absolutely everything and still Americans are troubled and unsatisfied.

Recently I heard Ravi Zacharias give a rendering of the story written in the twelfth chapter of Mark. The Pharisees, in order to trap Jesus had asked Him if it was lawful to pay a poll-tax. Jesus showed them a denarius and asked them whose inscription was on it? When they replied Caesars, Jesus told them to “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s”. Sadly, as Ravi Zacharias pointed out, they did not ask the next logical question and that was “Then what belongs to God”? If the poll-tax was due to Caesar because his image was on it, then, since we bear the image of God (Genesis 1:26), do we not belong to Him? We are made in God’s image, so nothing short of God will satisfy us. We can seek satisfaction in our jobs, in amassing wealth or possessions, in our families, even in Christian service, but nothing short of God will satisfy us.

Too many believers live their lives with God as part of their lives, instead of living as an integral part of God’s world. How would an artist feel if he painted a beautiful landscape as a special present to adorn the house of one whom he deeply loved, only to visit one day and find the canvas being used as a placemat instead of art. There it lay on the table under a smear of spaghetti splattered there by the beloved persons’ two year old child? How could he not be hurt? He created the painting. He loved his work and now its beauty is marred and the person he so lovingly made it for did not find value in the creation.

God created us in His image. One who creates can not help but love that which he created out of love. Can you picture God stepping back after creating man and with a contented smile saying “very good”, this human creation is not just good, but “very good”! He admires, He adores, He fellowships with His masterpiece until sin enters and mars that which was very good. So God who loved what He made sent His Son to redeem that which He created, not only saving those who believe in Him from death, but enabling them to be conformed back into the image in which they were created (Romans 8:29).

Mankind will never be satisfied apart from God, no matter in what avenue they seek fulfillment. Their soul will always crave its created image. Once man has received Christ, they too will find satisfaction eludes them if they live a life apart from their Creator. Too many believers pretend their lives are fine, working, raising their families, going to church, doing Christian service, yet when alone they still feel unsatisfied, as if something is missing. They are living what A.W. Tozer calls an “add on God” life. They have their minds set on things in this world, multiplying things, and increasing things and perfecting things; putting their confidence in things and God. They are putting “God as a plus sign after something else”. They have a good job, a good income and God. They have a good home, a good family and God. They have ambition for the future, creativity for a project and God. God is the Creator of this vast universe. How can we try to make Him merely a part of it? It would be like telling an artist that he isn’t the painter creating a masterpiece on canvas, he is just the paint on the canvas; beautiful in its designated spot, but not in control of the entire work of art.

How do you know if you have become an “add on God” Christian? Ask yourself, “do you want God more than anything else in the World”? If everything else was taken away from you and God is all that was left, would that be enough? Can you say as Colossians 3:3 says; my life is hidden with Christ in God, not that He is hidden somewhere in the world that you’ve created for yourself? Can you pray as Lady Julian of Norwich did; “God give me thyself, for nothing less than thee will do.”

As God pleases, dispose the day © 2008 is an electronic devotional by D. A. Brewer. All Bible quotations are from the New American Standard Version, © 1993 Lockman Foundation and used by permission. Quotes taken from “The Attributes of God” by A.W. Tozer. The title “As God pleases, dispose the day” is a quote from Henry V by William Shakespeare.