| I have recently become a big fan of Hamilton. I know that was popular last year, but I struggled with the idea of listening to the soundtrack when I could not watch it. However, I have learned so much about the characters, the action, even the morality of the story by simply listening. One thing in particular struck me about Alexander Hamilton, and it's summed up very well in this song. Angelica Schuyler says it about herself, as well. They are never satisfied. |
Ecclesiastes 1:8 says, "Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content." Alexander Hamilton does so many things throughout the course of his life, yet none of it is enough. He has a wonderful wife, a loyal son, and an important job. However, the only thing that matters to him is leaving a legacy. Angelica has a similar problem. She wants Alexander for his brains; but as long as her sister, Eliza, loves him, he cannot be hers. Even though she gets a husband later, Angelica cannot stop flirting with Alexander, who returns the affection. They want what they cannot have.
Everyone struggles with this, to some extent. Christians often wonder why they cannot party or get drunk with friends. Teenagers and young couples fantasize about having sex because they do not want to wait for marriage. Small children cannot wait to grow up and be teenagers. Teenagers pray to become adults. Single adults want to be married, and couples want children. Parents wish their children were out of the house, and working people hope for retirement.
Everyone struggles with this, to some extent. Christians often wonder why they cannot party or get drunk with friends. Teenagers and young couples fantasize about having sex because they do not want to wait for marriage. Small children cannot wait to grow up and be teenagers. Teenagers pray to become adults. Single adults want to be married, and couples want children. Parents wish their children were out of the house, and working people hope for retirement.
We believe there is always something better on the other side,
but this is a lie.
but this is a lie.
Hamilton wants his legacy, so he stays at work while Eliza, his son, and Angelica go on a summer trip. While they are gone, he happens to walk a woman home from work and becomes... distracted with her body. Eliza has never been enough for him, and even her sister cannot quench his thirst for something he never finds.
The affair is captured in a song called "Say No to This." For one moment, he struggles against the temptation, but he falls anyway. I have listened to this song only once because it makes me so angry. Why can't he see she is trying to seduce him? Why doesn't he walk away? How dare he fall so easily when Eliza trusts him? Then I realize I do the same thing. Like Alexander and Angelica, I am never satisfied with where I am. I want to graduate college, I want to get a job, I want to get married, I want to have kids, and the list goes on forever.
The Apostle Paul was continually in jail for the Gospel, yet he told the Philippians this, "Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. ... For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength" (Phil. 4:11, 13). There is the secret. Through Christ. My worth is not in my labels: graduate, teacher, wife, writer. Alexander Hamilton's worth was not in his legacy, and Angelica Schuyler's was not in her beautiful brain. They were never satisfied because they never had the truth. Only Christ can offer real satisfaction. Without Him, we become like the author of Ecclesiastics. "So I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless - like chasing the wind" (Eccl. 2:17). With Christ, however, everything is possible.
The affair is captured in a song called "Say No to This." For one moment, he struggles against the temptation, but he falls anyway. I have listened to this song only once because it makes me so angry. Why can't he see she is trying to seduce him? Why doesn't he walk away? How dare he fall so easily when Eliza trusts him? Then I realize I do the same thing. Like Alexander and Angelica, I am never satisfied with where I am. I want to graduate college, I want to get a job, I want to get married, I want to have kids, and the list goes on forever.
The Apostle Paul was continually in jail for the Gospel, yet he told the Philippians this, "Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. ... For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength" (Phil. 4:11, 13). There is the secret. Through Christ. My worth is not in my labels: graduate, teacher, wife, writer. Alexander Hamilton's worth was not in his legacy, and Angelica Schuyler's was not in her beautiful brain. They were never satisfied because they never had the truth. Only Christ can offer real satisfaction. Without Him, we become like the author of Ecclesiastics. "So I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless - like chasing the wind" (Eccl. 2:17). With Christ, however, everything is possible.