Eating, texting, complaining... oh my!

With all of the thinking I've been doing lately, I couldn't help but to ponder over the actions and motivations of the people I encountered this Christmas. I had been thinking about how Donald Miller says that we are all looking for someone to tell us who we really are; we want to know where we fit in, how important we are, who we are to other people, how loved we are... Since the Fall has separated us from God, who ultimately affirms us, we look for self-affirmation from others, and we do it unceasingly. Since we can no longer hear God's voice, or so we think, we succumb and often cling to the opinions of man instead and desperately hope to be fulfilled by what they say. I thought about that a lot during all of our Christmas family gatherings and, when I did, I found some serious emptiness. So many of my relatives were looking for fulfillment, but they just didn't know how to get it!Some of them indulged in food, hoping food would be the answer to whole-ness. Others couldn't stop texting, hoping that friends would affirm them as worthwhile. Still others sought fulfillment through complaining - as if family would affirm their character through sympathy and giving in. What stuck out to me the most about all of their actions was that NOTHING worked. Nobody was being fulfilled and that is why they had to keep eating, texting, complaining, etc; if those things had really been fulfilling, one time would have been enough; they would have received in full what they sought. The fact that it was all so repetitive showed me, however, that they weren't getting what they wanted... they wanted fulfillment and whole-ness and sought to reach it through some sort affirmation or worldly gain, but it just wasn't working. For me, this only confirmed Miller's words that we all seek fulfillment through affirmation of who we are - and NOTHING can do that except the Creator who formed us all.

My only dilemma with this is that Miller makes it seem as though humans receive fulfillment by figuring-out/hearing who they really are. I think, nonetheless, that we were created for the sole purpose of glorifying God. If this is what we were created for, I should think we would be fulfilled when we fulfill that purpose, not when God satisfies our query. But then again, perhaps the more we glorify God, the more we become who He has created us to be and the more we understand exactly who we are in Him... in that case, glorifying God is the ULTIMATE fulfiller for all people involved! Hmmmm, I think I'm going to think about this a little more...

In the meantime, what do you think?