Is The Object Of Your Desire Really Worth Chasing After?

By Paige Mitts

Are you searching for your heart’s desire –fame, fortune, the perfect spouse, a pair of ruby slippers? What are you willing to do to obtain it?  

I saw the Broadway production of The Wizard of Oz in Atlanta, GA recently. It was an amazing show, with all the favorite characters and iconic moments. Admittedly, most might say their favorite character is Dorothy or even the Cowardly Lion. But look beyond the rainbows and ruby slippers and you’ll notice there are underlying spiritual themes worth exploring in this story.

For that reason I think the most interesting character is the Wicked Witch of the West. She knows exactly what she wants–the ruby slippers are the object of her desire and she will stop at nothing to get them. She believes that her power will be the greatest in Oz when she gains the slippers, so she schemes to get them no matter what the consequences.

So you won’t take warning, eh? All the worse for you. I’ll take care of you now instead of later. When I gain those ruby slippers, my power will be the greatest in Oz. Now my beauties. Something with poison in it I think. With poison in it. But attractive to the eye and soothing to the smell. Ha-ha-ha-ha. Poppies. Poppies… – The Wicked Witch of the West, The Wizard of Oz

What’s Your Poison?

It’s not something I’m thrilled to admit, but there have been times in my life when I can closely relate to the Wicked Witch of the West. Looking back, I recall the many objects of my desire over the years–worldly desires in the here and now for fame, fortune, the perfect spouse, ruby slippers. When I gain that promotion, I’ll impress everyone with my new title! When I earn that next degree, surely I’ll be smarter than everyone else! When I buy that big new house, when I can afford those designer shoes, when I marry that handsome man… and on and on and on. When it comes to matters of desire, often what looks attractive to the eye actually can have poison in it. In our fallen world and as sinners, our human tendencies can easily lead us astray and we end up searching for our hearts’ desires in fields of seductive yet toxic poppies.

Throughout the years when I first fell in love, it all seemed so right at the time. I felt like I had finally found the object of my desire that I had been searching for! I believed that we were meant to be together, it was true love, we were attracted to each other, soul mates… but I should have paid more attention to the fact that I was grasping the object of my earthly desire instead of seeking a greater desire for God.

We are all given a spark of desire for God that sin cannot destroy unless we let it. It’s the sin, the unconfessed, dirty smudge of sin on our souls, that ends up destroying our desire for God and leads us astray–so instead we desire the proverbial ruby slippers and will stop at nothing to get them.

In the Wizard of Oz, the witch ultimately meets her demise by getting liquidated when Dorothy douses her with water, trying to save the scarecrow from being burned. Many of us who are divorced feel like we’ve been liquidated like the witch, losing everything that we had set our hearts’ desires on…especially our marriages and the security of our future. It was a painful lesson to learn but one that we can benefit from if we choose to learn from our mistakes and make a decision to reset our hearts’ desires.

“That’s how much longer you’ve got to be alive. And it isn’t long, my pretty. It isn’t long” (ibid).

Building Heavenly Treasures

So how much time do we want to continue to waste chasing the earthly objects of our desire?  I know I’ve already wasted enough time doing things my way and don’t want to waste another moment. Even though God’s time is infinite, far surpassing any knowledge we have, He wants us to start today to put a desire in our hearts for Him first.

After my divorce, I embarked on a profound journey for healing and spiritual growth. One of the most important lessons I learned was that the desire for a relationship with God and our savior Jesus had to be first in my heart, above all else. It was only after I got this right that the desires of my heart were straightened out and put in proper order. I was no longer chasing after shiny, seductive objects of my desire that always seemed to be just out of my grasp. This Scripture became a part of my daily prayers:

Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me”.

Our story doesn’t have to end up like the witch’s, thanks to God’s mercy and love for us. God sent His Son to save us from following the yellow brick road to emptiness, chasing after things that we foolishly believe will fulfill our hearts’ desire. God doesn’t want us to follow the yellow brick road to Oz; He wants us to follow the path He laid out for us to the Cross. He desires for us to empty ourselves of the objects of our desire and replace them with the desire for the Way, the Truth and the Light. Only in that place of grace, where our hearts and desires are focused on Christ, can the dreams that we dare to dream really do come true.