Can You Take A Challenge From the Year 409 AD???

I was recently reading a book by Augustine of Hippo, a man who lived in north Africa in the 5th century A.D. Something he wrote applies just as much today as it did then. What a challenge to all of us!

"It's really odd, I must say, how people neglect their lives, so that the only things they feel all right having bad are their own lives. You are buying a house--you look for a good one.You want to get married--you look for the best person. You want children--you hope they'll be good. You buy a pair of shoes--you hope they'll feel good. But you feel fine having a bad life! What has annoyed you about your life so much, that it's the only thing you like being bad, with the result that among all the good things in your life, you alone are what's miserable?"

I personally think the same thing can be said about ignoring marriage problems, depression, or trauma symptoms. Who wouldn't buy a new Ferrari or BMW for a few hundred dollars? What a profit you could make! Or you could just enjoy it yourself. Yet people get concerned about spending a few hundred dollars on therapy that will change their lives forever. I think Augustine here challenges us to think about priorities.