Aren’t You Tired of Tryin’ To Fill That Void?

In anticipation of the Oscars…

Tell me somethin’ girl
Are you happy in this modern world?
Or do you need more?
Is there somethin’ else you’re searchin’ for?

I’m falling
In all the good times I find myself longin’ for change
And in the bad times I fear myself

Tell me something boy
Aren’t you tired tryin’ to fill that void?
Or do you need more?
Ain’t it hard keeping it so hardcore?…”

According to my Google search these lyrics from the hit song “Shallow” from the movie A Star is Born mean something a little different to everyone. But for me the theological underpinning is as loud and strong as Lady Gaga’s voice. The dissatisfaction, emptiness and itch that she and Bradley Cooper sing about is common to all mankind.

There is reason we long for more and that is WE WERE MADE FOR MORE! The problem is the more we were made for can’t be found, bought or attained here in this world.

1 Peter tells us our greatest treasure and inheritance is awaiting us in heaven. But though it’s unfading – beyond compare – for most of us much of the time we want instant gratification and happiness now. So instead of fixing our eyes on Christ and what’s to come we try to fill the void, or the hole in our soul as I like to say, with the things of this world.

But the hole is a God-shaped hole that only He can fill. Even good things, like our spouse and kids, our friendships, our jobs, fall short. They weren’t meant to bear the god-like status we place upon them. But in our sin we demand they measure up and meet our needs. Only with their subsequent failure, it sends us seeking after something else.

In our search for the perfection of heaven we place our hope instead in the fading gods of our appearance, performance, influence and affluence.Click To Tweet

Stating it this way makes it seem insane we functionally live this way. And probably also hard to admit. But seeing the false ways we try to stuff the hole is a good thing because it draws us to greater dependence on our Savior. So in the same vein as my last post we must constantly be examining our hearts.

Below are a few litmus tests questions to use for evaluating whether you’ve made a false god out of something:

1. Consider your emotions surrounding whatever “it’ is. If it’s your kids, do you lash out in anger or embarrassment when they misbehave because of how it makes you look? If it’s your performance, do you live as if you have to be perfect and anything less is the source of self-condemnation?
2. What consumes your thoughts? How do you spend your money and time? These could be pointers to a false identity/god you are trusting in.
3. What drives your behavior? Trace it back to the “root” of why you do what you do. For instance, in the movie A Star is Born, Bradley Cooper turned to alcohol and drugs to numb his emptiness. But it’s never just an alcohol and drug problem- that is the “fruit” of the “root” problem.

In the Christmas hymn “O Holy Night” we sing, “Long lay the world in sin and error pining. Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.”

The sole solution for our soul hole is Jesus.Click To Tweet

In Him alone will we find rest to stop the striving. Trying to hang our hat on happiness anywhere else will always be elusive. May we instead set our sight on the imperishable, and withstand life’s trials but “for a little while” in light of the eternal home that awaits.