Thursday, November 4, 2010

The Invisible Man

  It feels like it's been forever since I talked about a book on here.  I recently got a Kindle when they lowered the price, and have been downloading all the classics I never made time to read.  I recently finished The Invisible Man, by H.G. Wells.  I thought it was a fascinating look at what often happens when the wildest dreams come true.

  The book is based around an individual who thought it would be great fun to be invisible.  He was a chemist, and eventually he created a formula that allowed him to do just that.  He had so many wondrous plans for invisibility that he was eager to begin.

  However, almost as soon as he had done so, the problems began to arise.  He could barely walk anywhere where people were, for they would run him over.  He was unable to have interaction with others, and startled them when they would collide with him.  He was cold all the time--he hadn't reckoned on the effects of being naked in England in winter.  In short, it was a complete disaster, although he couldn't figure out for the life of him how to reverse the process.

  While reading the book, I wondered how many others in the world had their wildest dreams come true, only to discover how many downsides there were later.  I remember talking at length in Psychology class in college about how most lottery winners end up less happy after they win large sums due to all the problems money causes.  We often don't see the negatives until it's too late.

  It got me to thinking about what my wildest dreams are, and the downsides of that.  I am often guilty of allowing the world to define success for me, and I forget that the world's success will probably lead me away from the person God wants me to be.  I don't think about the way that wealth and fame would corrupt and change my nature.  I am guilty of believing that renown comes with no negatives.

  When we dream big dreams, may we do so listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit, ensuring that our dreams match up with God's dreams for us, so that we don't end up simply allowing the world to corrupt us through the lies of money, wealth and fame.

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