It seems the shallowness of material pursuits is starting to become apparent to even the most jaded: this just in from Reuters News Service:

Cosmopolitan, the glossy bible of sex and shopping for the single girl, has launched a new monthly column on spirituality.

“I’ve come to the painful realisation that men and shoes are not enough to make me happy,” Hannah Borno, the magazine’s new Spirituality Editor, wrote in the March edition. “The key to true contentment lies elsewhere.”

God and guidance would hardly seem to suit the “Cosmo girl.” Media have mocked the magazine for asking what happens now after years of breathless stories about dressing sexy, finding men and having multiple orgasms.

Borno, 32, says reader feedback has convinced Cosmo that many young women long for something more than the materialist life.

“Lots of women say ‘I have a great job, I have a great relationship, so why am I unhappy?’,” she told Reuters.

As I have been saying, these women are unhappy because they were made for God and until they are right with Him, their emptiness and unhappiness will remain. Unfortunately, as this article makes clear, most people try to get happy and fill the void according to their own terms. They don’t want right answers, they want “acceptable” results. Instead of looking for truth, they look for whatever feels right for them – whatever “works” for the moment. Instead of fitting into God’s plan for redemption, they want god to fit into their plan. As such, instead of turning to traditional sources of doctrine, they pick and choose a spiritual path for themselves.

“There is clearly a huge number of people who are either disassociated with or disgusted with organised religion but are seeking spirituality by other means,” said Steven Waldman, editor-in-chief of Beliefnet in New York.

“They are cutting out the middleman,” he said. “It’s in the nature of modern society that people are spiritual free agents now.”

“Institutions are no longer imposing a message on the faithful,” wrote Frederic Lenoir, a French sociologist of religion. “Individuals are freely taking what suits them from various traditions,” he added, referring to what is sometimes derided as supermarket spirituality.

Borno bore that out in her first spirituality section, advising readers to tap their dreams to hear their inner voice and use ancient Chinese meditation tricks to think clearly.

This trend is prevasive now (see Hollywood’s God post). It is also ridiculous. When seeking something deeper in life, the one thing you don’t want is to be wrong. So what if you base your spiritual journey on pieces from six different belief systems if all six are wrong. You’ll be on a path that leads to nowhere, or worse. Truth is what matters in spirituality. Nothing else. If God has a plan (He does), we need to get on board with it.

Don Johnson Evangelistic Ministries