When God says to you, “Ask what you will,” what request will you make? Think hard! Expand your greed as far as you can! Ask for the whole earth and its people as slaves. Then ask for the sea, even though you can’t live in it. Ask for the air as well, even though you cannot fly. Lift your longing even to the sky and say that you want the sun and the moon and the starts. All these things are precious in their own way but nothing is more precious than the God who made them. What he wants to give you is himself. If you have discovered anything better than that, go ahead and ask for it.

—Augustine, Commentary on Psalm 34 1.12

You have to love Augustine. Ever the clear-eyed realist, here again Augustine summarizes the plight of human condition. Without the sin of pride, why would we want anything else more than God? Why would we make anything a greater priority than life? Why would we choose things that are temporary and lead to nowhere?