Many people find it hard to live with themselves because they are haunted by the fear that they are not getting the most out of life, whether they are young or old, married or single, parents or childless, moral or rebellious; each imagines that something essential is slipping past them, leaving their existence thin, frustrated, and unreal. This restless dissatisfaction, however, is not a sign that life has failed us but that God’s law is still at work, exposing the emptiness of life lived for self alone. No one ever truly gets the most out of life by grasping at it, because life was never designed to revolve around our wants and wishes but around God’s purpose. Jesus stated the paradox plainly: whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Christ’s sake will find it. We were created not to extract maximum pleasure from life but to give ourselves in service to God and others; when we misuse life by making ourselves the center, we experience frustration, just as a car fails miserably when used as a house instead of a vehicle. The secret of peace with oneself is therefore not self-fulfillment but self-giving: when we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, when we give our lives instead of hoarding them, life is restored to its proper function, and joy, peace, and contentment are added as gifts from God rather than prizes seized by effort.