Am I hungry enough?

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled" Matt 5:6

In his book The Jesus I Never Knew Philip Yancey devotes an entire chapter to the beatitudes. In it he unpacks the concept that the beatitudes represent a "Psychological Reality".

Not only did Jesus offer an ideal for us to strive toward, with appropriate rewards in view; not only did he turn the tables on our success-addicted society; he also set forth a plain formula of psychological truth, the deepest level of truth we can know on earth. The beatitudes reveal that what succeeds in the kingdom of heaven also benefits us most in this life here and now.

He goes on to talk about the hopelessness which sits at the core of so many lives we would consider to be successful - the movie stars who are drug addicts, the comedians who are pathologically lonely - and the blessing which enriches the lives of many who we would look on as servants.

I love the way that The Message puts this beatitude: "You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat". So why is it that I so often find myself running after the things which don't fill me up? It takes a concerted effort to stop judging success by the world's standards. Even a daily focus on God has not stopped me straying.