John Calvin (1509–64), the Reformer and pastor-theologian of Geneva, once described the human heart as an idol factory. He wrote, “For it is a doctrine not of the tongue but of life. It is not apprehended by the understanding and memory alone, as other disciplines are, but it is received only when it possesses the whole soul, and finds a seat and resting place in the inmost affection of the heart.” Augustine of Hippo (354–430) made a similar observation when he prayed, “For Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee.” Calvin and Augustine recognized a biblical truth: the heart is the place where our desires take shape, and Christian faith is fundamentally a matter of the heart.
The Bible warns us to "keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life" (Prov. 4:23). Our desires quietly govern our decisions, shape our habits, and influence our sense of identity. What we love ultimately determines how we live. When oriented toward God, desire motivates what is most beautiful in our lives; yet when disordered, it becomes a burden that exhausts us.
The Modern Phenomenon of FOMO and the Seventeenth-Century Netherlands
One of the clearest expressions of disordered desire today is the phenomenon often called Fear of Missing Out—FOMO. Whether in cryptocurrency, real-estate speculation, or rapid-gain investment schemes—or even admiring the newer houses down the street—many people chase financial success. They compare themselves with others, feel as if they are falling behind, and begin to panic. The heart becomes restless and fearful, driven more by a sense of scarcity than by trust in God.
Although FOMO feels like a modern problem, this kind of restlessness is not unique to the twenty-first century. Something remarkably similar unfolded in the seventeenth-century Dutch Republic, during a period of immense prosperity and cultural influence. Christians today may know the Netherlands of this era for the Synod of Dort (1618–19) and the flourishing of Reformed theology. Yet the broader culture was far from a Christian ideal.
Gambling, prostitution, and widespread alcohol abuse were common features of public life. Wealth increased rapidly, but so did moral fragmentation. Beneath the economic prosperity lay deep social anxiety.
In response, many pastors and theologians helped lead what became known as the Nadere Reformatie—the Dutch Further Reformation or Dutch Second Reformation, seeking not only the renewal of the moral fiber of society, but of personal piety.
Among these leaders was Wilhelmus à Brakel (1635–1711), whose four-volume The Christian’s Reasonable Service addressed readers in an age full of wealth, fear, comparison, and misplaced hope.
À Brakel’s Pastoral Wisdom on Regulating Desire
In The Christian’s Reasonable Service, volume 3, à Brakel devotes extended attention to guiding Christians toward a rightly ordered heart. His counsel is strikingly direct, practical, and deeply pastoral. After describing the dangers of greed and covetousness, he invites believers to examine their lives with honesty:
Open your containers and closets, and observe your money, clothing, home decorations, as well as your homes, orchards, and fields—and then answer this question: How did you acquire all these? If you perceive that you have not acquired them lawfully, restore that which you have obtained in an evil manner, for otherwise you are not permitted to pray (Isa. 1:16–17; 1 John 3:20).
He warns against excusing dishonest gain with clever rationalizations, and he offers responses to common evasions:
“I have stolen so much; if I had to return everything I would be a beggar.” Answer: “It is better to be a beggar than a thief.”
“I am not acquainted with those whom I have shortchanged.” Answer: “Give to the poor—not merely as charity, but as repayment before God.”
His pastoral heart is evident. If restitution is genuinely impossible, he urges the believer to confess their sin, examine their motivations to distinguish the sinful from the godly, grieve over the offense before God, and seek forgiveness in Christ. His exhortation ultimately leads believers to glorify God in every area of life and to love their neighbor. He teaches us how to regulate our hearts and desires in the very presence of God.
His pastoral care extends even to the “castles in the sky” we build through comparison. Because our eyes and hearts are so easily deceived by the world’s temptations, à Brakel exhorts us not to set our affections on prosperity, riches, honor, or entertainment. He warns against the vain thoughts where one imagines himself to be in the position of a mayor, businessman, prince or king, and reflects upon what he would then do. We must recognize them as unworthy of mention when compared to our eternal inheritance.
À Brakel’s Remedy for the Restless Heart Today
À Brakel’s world may seem distant from ours, yet the human heart has not changed. Whether in seventeenth-century Amsterdam or twenty-first-century Los Angeles, New York, Seoul, Paris, or London, the temptation remains the same: to build our identity on wealth, comparison, and imagined futures rather than on God’s unchanging promises.
FOMO thrives wherever our hearts are governed by scarcity—asking, “What if I fall behind? What if others succeed without me? What if I miss my chance?” But Scripture calls us to anchor our lives not in fluctuating markets, trends, or the achievements of others, but in the God who provides our daily bread, gives true rest, and reorients our desires toward what truly satisfies.
The remedy for restless desire is a renewed heart. A heart anchored in God’s grace learns to desire differently. It learns to rest not in imagined futures, but in the Christ who holds the future. It learns that flourishing comes not from grasping, but from trusting.
Calvin and Augustine were right: our hearts are restless until they rest in God. Yet à Brakel reminds us that this rest is not passive. It calls us to examine our desires, confess our misplaced hopes, and follow Jesus with integrity amidst cultural pressures.
In a world driven by FOMO, Christians bear witness to a different story—one in which the heart finds its fulfillment not in gaining more, but in belonging to the God who has already given us everything in Christ.
Footnotes
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, 2 vols., Library of Christian Classics (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1960), I.11.8.
Calvin, Institutes, III.6.4.
Augustine, Confessions, trans. Henry Chadwick (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991), I.1.
Willem J. van Asselt and Paul H. A. M. Abels, “The Seventeenth Century,” in Handbook of Dutch Church History, ed. Herman J. Selderhuis (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2014), 267–70.
Wilhelmus à Brakel, The Christian’s Reasonable Service, ed Joel R. Beeke, trans Bartel Elshout, 4 vols (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 1994), 3:224–25.
à Brakel, The Christian’s Reasonable Service, 3:367–68.
à Brakel, The Christian’s Reasonable Service, 3:240, 242.
