Ever heard of the carrot stick principle? The carrot-and-stick principle is this: the stick is tied to the bridle of a mule or donkey, or held by the human rider or cart driver so that it extends above and in front of the animal’s head, and the carrot hangs on a string from the far end of the stick, just out of reach of the animal’s mouth. Attracted by the sight and smell, the donkey steps forward to bite at the carrot, but of course, as it is attached to the stick, the carrot also moves forward leaving the poor animal to never claim his reward but eventually collapse from exhaustion. Too bad the animal never learns. Sometimes we humans can be like an ass, we can be stupid as donkeys. We chase after the carrot of money, success, possessions, pleasure, sex, relationships and we all strive for that carrot dangling in front of us but we never truly grasp it and as a result, we end up exhausted and burned out, having wasted our lives. We think it’s real freedom because we are the ones leading our lives but we fool ourselves, we are just bridled to a cart leading the weight of the world around. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to lead my own life thinking I got this, almost there, only to find myself suffering the consequences later. And I got to thinking, what if all the striving after all these things is just an attempt by me to earn love? Think about it, even when we are born and we have our first cry, it’s not because we’re hungry. Yes, we may be wanting food but deep down inside, it’s because we are craving love. We want to know who loves us. We want to know who’s going to pick us up and hold us and soothe us, who’s going to let us know that we are the apple of someone’s eye. And so from the cradle to the grave we seek this. Look at me, acknowledge me, pick me up and love me. Some say we have a hole in our hearts and it’s so crazy deep, we fill it up with all the things we’ve done, we work so hard just to put money in our hand but all along, the love we really need,  is crazy cheap. The Bible says that what we desire is only found in what Christ can give. In John 10:10, Jesus says He has come to give us life abundantly. It also says He gives us everything we need for life and godliness, 2 Peter 1:3. Wow, and all this time I still chase after the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. In Him, I’ve got it already. I don’t need to look for it anymore. I don’t need to seek approval anymore. I don’t need to check my Facebook to see who likes my blog or shared it. I don’t need to have a title before my name, just child of God. Jesus loves me and that’s enough. God never tells us to follow the carrot, He tells us to follow Him. The Bible promises us that when He leads us,  He will lead us to green pastures, Psalm23. He will satisfy our souls with good things, Psalms 105:3.
Nothing wrong with dreams or goals or making money but if we can get to the point where our hole is just filled with His love and nothing else, then anything else He chooses to give us or take away from us, will not matter so much. Tired of pursuing love in all the wrong places? Ditch the carrot , give over your life to Jesus, let Him lead you and He will unbridle you from the burden of pulling the weight of the world around in a cart that is going nowhere. Remember, when Jesus is our main love, everything else is just a cherry on top of an amazing sundae.

1 Timothy 6:6-12 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.