The Fountain of Eternal Life: Quenching Spiritual Thirst

Here in Florida, spring has arrived, soon to be followed by the hot humid summer. We can look forward to those scorching hot summer days, when our skin quickly turns a vibrant shade of scarlet as the sweat pours down our faces.  Those days, it seems like gallons of water aren’t enough to keep us cool and hydrated.

Similarly, the consumer mindset in the United States — in direct contrast with Catholic money management — encourages us in unquenchable spending.  Regardless of how much we currently have, advertisers do not want us to ever be satisfied.  Even if we have food on the table, comfortable shelter, and enough to provide for our family, advertisers persuade us to be discontent.

This mindset is dangerous for every single American consumer. The desire for more, more, more carves out holes in our pockets that become increasingly difficult to mend as time goes on.

Pause for a moment and think: why is consumerism so widespread?  Why do I never feel satisfied?

The answer to these questions lies in the source of our satisfaction. Catholic money management principles teach us that material goods are not able to satisfy us because they are of no real substance.  In John 4:13-14, Jesus reminds us that material things, even something as basic as water, can never satisfy us for long:

“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Jesus provides us with a different type of satiation through a fountain of spiritual wealth.  If we allow ourselves to drink of this fountain, to take in the substance that will fill the void in our lives, we won’t need to pad our homes and pockets with a host of material goods.  Those who fill up on God’s love and blessings will quickly find themselves full and satisfied.

In return for the gifts he gives us, we should demonstrate our gratitude by following Catholic money management principles. We need to understand that the latest and greatest gadgets will never provide true happiness. A few short days or weeks after we purchase the latest “must-have” item we are looking for the next thing to buy. Our true thirst can only be quenched by a life in Christ.