Everyone gets to the point in their life when they need to settle and start taking those steps to “adulthood” but there is something missing. It is different than a yearning for food, or losing something. It is different than a midlife crisis. It is an absence of something much greater, much deeper, much stronger than any earthly object. Much of society is missing the mark on what can fill that deep hole of unsatisfaction. The world constantly searches for temporary pleasure to indulge an eternal hole that needs an eternal fulfillment.
We as people think this issue can be filled by things we can see or achieve. Some find a temporary solution in money, believing they can buy anything they need to fill the yearnings of one’s heart. Others in society look toward achievements, graduating with highest honors, being the top of his or her class, getting promotions at work. Once these achievements are reached the need for something more comes back. NFL quarterback Tom Brady, who has won several super bowls, earns a huge sum of money, and is very successful by the world's standards, said, “Why do I have three super bowl rings and still think there is something greater out there for me? Maybe a lot of people would say (...) this is what it is, I have reached my goal, my dream (...) I think it has got to be more than this.”Getting the greatest achievements does not appease the constant pull of the hole inside. It will be a continual cycle that always begins and ends with the same need for something greater.
Researchers have almost grasped the concept of what can please the unsatisfied world. They called this solution “a higher calling”. Stuart Bunderson, PhD, professor of organizational behavior at Washington University in St. Louis says, “Working as a zookeeper felt like a personal destiny to many of them. You can say work is meaningful because you enjoy it or it serves some purpose, but a calling makes that work personal”. The idea of higher calling is what brought satisfaction to the zookeepers even if their work was less than satisfactory such as scrubbing, cleaning and scooping waste form enclosures (Wier). The zookeepers had a glimpse of the fulfillment of an eternal need, however, God has a higher calling for each one of us.
Society can have more than just a glimpse of this contentedness. The feeling of being dissatisfied has a solution. The solution is deeper than money, deeper than physical objects, deeper than a job. The solution must be something infinite, not temporary, not able to be lost in a matter of seconds. The deep longing for something bigger is real and present in much of society. To fill this need we must look toward our God, our Creator. He said, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (The Holy Bible, John 6.35). Many don’t believe in Him, but he is real and He is the only solution to this unsatisfied world.