God Shaped Hole

This Audio is beautifully done by Plumb. I'm sure all of us can relate to this on time or another in our lives-- after all, we are human!

We've all tried to fill our lives with one thing or another to fullfill us (whether it be the internet, our jobs, tv, drugs, alchohol, etc) only to be left empty.

I did some research on the subject and found some answers on this website:

www.GotQuestions.org


Question: "Does everyone have a "God-shaped hole"?"

Answer: Some people argue that all people have an innate longing for God. Pascal described it as a "God-shaped vacuum." Some quote Ecclesiastes 3:11 referencing God's placing of "eternity in their heart'' which is often said to mean that God has placed a God-shaped hole inside of all people who then spend their lives looking for something to fill it. Without God, people will try to fill the hole with immorality, business, etc. Thus, they remain unfulfilled and wondering why their lives never seem satisfactory. We are often then told that the key to evangelism is to get people to admit to this problem, show them that nothing will ever satisfy besides God, and then proceed to the gospel.

The question is: What exactly does it mean to have eternity in one's heart? First, though, we might ask if this is even what the Bible says. The NIV translation has, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." The KJV has "He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end." The NET translation has: "I have observed the burden that God has given to people to keep them occupied. God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time, but he has also placed ignorance in the human heart so that people cannot discover what God has ordained, from the beginning to the end of their lives." None seem to be clearly referring to any kind of internal desire that all men have for God, even if the word is "eternity."

Further, Pascal did not in fact say that "there is a God-shaped vacuum in all of us." What he said was, "All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. . . . And yet, after such a great number of years, no one without faith has reached the point to which all continually look. . . . A trial so long, so continuous, and so uniform, should certainly convince us of our inability to reach the good by our own efforts. . . . he in vain tries to fill from all his surroundings, seeking from things absent the help he does not obtain in things present? But these are all inadequate, because the infinite abyss can only be filled by an infinite and immutable object, that is to say, only by God Himself. He only is our true good, and since we have forsaken him, it is a strange thing that there is nothing in nature which has not been serviceable in taking His place; . . . And since man has lost the true good, everything can appear equally good to him, even his own destruction, though so opposed to God, to reason, and to the whole course of nature." (Pensees 6.425) Thus the hole Pascal speaks of is "happiness shaped." That one can only FIND ultimate happiness in God is a separate matter.

Finally, and with all due respect to Pascal who I think is being misquoted here, I see several problems with this idea. First, the Bible does not paint a pretty picture of unsaved man's desires. Rather, it says that men have hearts that are full of evil (Ecclesiastes 9:3) that do not seek God (Romans 3:10-18) and whose desires lead to sin (Romans 7; James 1:14). Second, having been saved as an adult, I clearly remember my "B.C." days and I was definitely not seeking to fill any God-shaped vacuum. In fact, I desired many of the same things I still do - security, safety, soundness . . . and although I have learned that I must trust God for my needs (met or not) I still want these things. I think most people desire the same basic things, the problem is that they seek fulfillment for this life alone and are convinced that achieving some additional success in these areas will satisfy them (although studies and common experience show that they do not). This leads to my third point..

What a lot of people do not realize is how unique Qohelet (the author of Ecclesiastes) was. How many people can exhaust themselves on riches, women, food, drink, learning, etc.? I make a lot more money than I did five years ago but I still want more. I still feel like doubling my pay would satisfy me and I won't find out that it doesn't until I get it. Then, if I get the money, I'll think that a newer car, or a thinner spouse, or a shorter drive to work, or, or, or will satisfy. The fact is that it is extremely difficult to find someone who has sampled enough of the world to be convinced that they will never find true happiness in the world (this, I think, was Pascal's point). Finding someone who has hit rock bottom abusing themselves is another thing, of course, but that only pushes the starting point below zero so-to-speak.

So in conclusion I do think that man was made with a desire for happiness - virtually all great thinkers admit to this. Further, it is the case that only God can, ultimately, fill that longing. But I think it is a mistake to act as though unbelievers are out groping for God and all we need to do is tap into that and we will gain converts. There is just too much in this world to give short-lived satisfaction. However, we can argue from this innate desire that unless existence is a cruel joke there must be an ultimate satisfaction to be found. And that ultimate is God.