The Greatest Obstacle to Your Happiness | Happiness Hour

Dennis Prager argues unhappiness comes from the gap between the mental images we construct for our lives and reality. He calls this the "Prager equation of unhappiness": U = Image minus Reality. Callers share stories of crashed images, from health diagnoses to career setbacks, and Prager offers ways to mourn the loss and build new, realistic ones.
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On today's episode of Timeless Wisdom.
In my book, I say you can measure the amount of unhappiness in a person's life, and it's Prager's equation of unhappiness: U I R. Unhappiness equals image minus reality. The difference between the image you have for your life And the reality of your life is in essence the amount of unhappiness that you are experiencing.
When we were married, I think that we had that idea that we would be married and that we'd have children and that we'd retire eventually. And we have 4 children, but the youngest of 4 has autism and Down syndrome, and last February was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. So there was a period— talk about mourning— of what that image that you had. We had to completely have a change of image or a change of paradigm and think, well, how is our life going to be different? We're not— there's that possibility he may be with us forever. And so you have to have a major adjustment. And I've always thought of myself as being a very happy person no matter what happened, trying to make the best of it. And I think that You know, in this case, I think that what you do is, is just that. You, you, maybe your goal instead of, you know, having the children out of the nest and having a college education, your goal is to teach them something new.
That's coming up on Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager.
What happens when faith and mental health meet for real?
What's up? I'm Grace Graber.
Welcome to Breaking Through with Grace Graber, a podcast for honest conversations about anxiety, trauma, healing, hope, and the God who Grace never backs away when life gets heavy. We are gonna talk about everything mental health. No pretending, no perfect answers, just real stories, real faith, and a reminder that you're not alone. Get ready, you're going to be absolutely obsessed. Breaking Through with Grace Graber, available now wherever you get your podcasts.
Welcome to Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager. Hear thousands of hours of Dennis's lectures, courses, and classic radio programs. And to purchase Dennis Prager's Rational Bibles, go to dennisprager.com.
Hey everybody, welcome to the Dennis Prager Show, the Happiness Hour. Yes, it is. Every week, come hell or high water, frogs, lice, vermin, smiting of the firstborn, we talk about happiness. And I'm not going to sing this time. You are.
Let's go.
I'm listening.
I'm listening.
Come on. All right. You should see the smile on Alan's face that I didn't sing. There's a national hatred directed at Alan. By the way, I asked you to send hate mail to Alan, and some of you did. I didn't forward it to you, did I? Because I said, why should only I get hate mail? I think Alan should get some too. So some people wrote very funny hate mail messages. I forgot to forward them to you. All right, everybody, it's the Happiness Hour because happy people make the world better, and the world is made worse by largely unhappy people. Everybody has the right to be unhappy, or not the right. Nobody has— well, the right is not the question. Everybody has a reason to be unhappy. Best believe it or not, the chronically unhappy think that they have had it worse than the— than people who are not chronically unhappy, but that is not true. That is not true. The happy have worked on their happiness and the unhappy have not worked on their unhappiness. That's, that's the, that's the way it is. As a general rule, I know about— about— I accept biological causes for depression, which is why I accept biological responses such as psychopharmacology. Ah, so you have a moral duty to at least act as happy as possible. Walking around in a bad mood is like walking around with body odor or bad breath. Think of it that way. You don't inflict that on others, then don't inflict your moods on others. I have increasing intolerance for that as the years progress. Now, the topic today is huge. I mean, really huge. What was it Ed Sullivan used to say? Really big shoe. This is a really huge topic. My book, Happiness Is a Serious Problem, and I admit That if you like the Happiness Hour and you haven't read the book, I am puzzled. It's fair to say, get a used copy, borrow a copy, but read the book. It's Happiness Is a Serious Problem, and it is— the first half is about obstacles to happiness and the second half is suggestions. The obstacles are pretty serious, which is why I titled the book Happiness Is a Serious Problem, because in fact it is. Now, I have always said that the biggest obstacle to happiness is human nature. Human nature itself, and specifically that it's insatiable. No, human nature is insatiable and can never be fully satisfied. Whatever it is we want, we want more of. Money, love, fame, power, sex, whatever it is you want. Excitement, whatever it is. And, and that's built into us. It is built in by God or by nature or by both. However, having said that, once you leave the built-in obstacles to, to happiness, which are built into our nature, I, for the first time in talking about happiness, and this is a long time, it's 20 years that I am. I think that I might be able to isolate what for many people— I can't say all, but for perhaps the majority of people, aside from human nature— what I think the greatest obstacle to happiness. By the way, do you agree?
Yes.
Okay, that's interesting. We didn't review this in that way, and it is in the book, but I don't have it listed as the biggest obstacle after human nature. And the reason I say this is not human nature is because this is made by our mind. This is not made by our brain. Our brain wants more. Our mind does this one. And that is images. We all have images. We can't function without images. I mean, you, you, you won't imagine at all what you would like in life. I mean, it's impossible. What are you aiming for? Do you imagine marriage? Do you imagine family? Do you imagine friends? Do you imagine a career? Do you imagine a home? Do you imagine traveling? I mean, we imagine— it's crazy. You can't live without images. It's just, that's part of what the mind understandably does. Otherwise, one says, you know what, I have no image. I just— Whatever happens today happens today. Maybe that person is happy, but I, I, it's— I don't know anybody who can live like that. So here, so images is a huge deal, and they are very, very hard to abandon. We have in effect made ourselves hostage to our images. The images of what our life will be like and images of what our, you name it, our children will be like for that matter, our spouses will be like, our jobs will be like, our health will be like. Well, put health aside because we have less, we have less, well, we have less actually, we have less to say about all the other things that we tend to think of before, before in any event. I will tell you, I will give you examples here of the images issue and how hard it is and what you can do about it. Because I will be very personal. That is my, has been my greatest issue in terms, people ask me all the time, well, what about you? 'Cause I have worked to be and to act happy. Otherwise, I could not have written a book titled Happiness Is a Serious Problem. I think by now people understand that a man who writes a book, Happiness Is a Serious Problem, is writing in terms of his own work to be happy. And I have worked at it and I have done well. But it's people, the unhappy think that the happy have been problem-free. That's that's that's the the the the entirely erroneous assumption that the unhappy make. Now, images are very tough, and I will be very autobiographical for a moment to give you an example. I imagined I had a very clear and powerful image of the family life that I would want. It never ever ever ever included divorce. It it was. It was as far from my imagining for my life as imagining that I would end up living in Azerbaijan. It just did not enter the realm of possibility in the images for my life. And I have had to deal with that because a major image for my life was rendered moot. It just won't be. So when I talk to you about the images issue, there is a very real autobiographical component, as there is so often, by the way. These— I don't sit and abstract about life. Now, may I mention, Alan?
Sure.
So I was talking to Alan right before Now, Alan and Susie had a very strong image of a family for them, but it didn't work out to have kids. It just didn't work out. That was their image. I mean, everybody I know has had very powerful images unfulfilled. Everyone I know. I don't know anyone well, let's put it that way. There are people I don't know well who seem to have lived the images that they had for their lives. And I am sure that there are some people, I have to believe. I mean, there were lottery winners, right? I mean, that's a lottery win. Where your images comport with your reality is a lottery win. And there are people who win lotteries, and more power to you. I don't resent it. I am thrilled for you. It's a non-issue. But the vast majority of people and everyone I know well has not had the images for their life that they had projected. So what do you do then if the images that you have so strongly held to as almost defining you That's what images do. They define us. What do you do if your image has not been painted? That's what I will tell you when we come back and take your calls on the Happiness Hour, 1-800-PRAGER-776.
This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.
For nearly 3,000 years, Homer's The Iliad has shaped the Western imagination. As one of the foundational works of Western literature, it explores permanent questions about honor, Courage, leadership, friendship, justice, and what it means to live a noble life. In one of the epic's defining moments, Achilles returns to battle after the death of his beloved friend Patroclus, setting aside his wounded pride to confront the responsibilities that come with greatness. His decision reveals one of the central themes of The Iliad: that true greatness requires more than strength; it demands character, sacrifice, and the pursuit of what is right. That's why Hillsdale College has released its newest free online course, The Iliad. Taught by Professor Stephen Smith, the course reveals why Homer's masterpiece remains one of the greatest works of Western literature. hillsdale.edu/startnow. Read the classics. Study the West. hillsdale.edu/startnow.
Now, back to more of Dennis Prager's timeless wisdom.
Yes, it is the— it is the happy hour. The Happiness Hour on the Dennis Prager Show. And I think for most people, outside of human nature itself, this is the greatest obstacle to happiness: the collapse of the images that you had for life. Now, Eva tells me that a lot of you are not fully clear when you're calling in, and that could be just callers. Uh, and I, I don't know why the word image is having a problem For some people, we construct a visual ideological image in our mind of the type of life we want. It's not the exact same thing as a desire. I mean, I desire many things, but they are not necessarily the image. The image is the most important way that you want to lead your life and think that it will be led. And I, and the, there are pretty standard images that people in different cultures have. That, that's a culturally created thing, an image, by the way. That's why I make it distinct from human nature. Human nature is universal. Everybody is born wanting more. Whatever it is they want more of, that's built into us. Images are culturally created. The image of a happy life that an American has is not identical to the image of the happy life that a Saudi has. That's the way it is. And, or someone in rural Japan. Now, there are certain universals. A lot of, most people have an imagery of a family, but the way the family is constructed or behaves, obviously culturally determined. And we, uh, most people do not live the image that they had. And images are very powerful. That's why I think that outside of human nature, it's the greatest single obstacle to happiness, because images are the way we have imagined. And I'm just being redundant, really, to try to be as clear as possible. That's the way we imagined our life would be. And we have, we have By doing that, we all— and I gave you examples of the 2 people in this studio— we have all in effect made happiness hostage to that image. If I don't have that image, how can I be happy? That's my image of happy. My, the, my image of a happy life is X, is Y, is Z, is not A and not B and not C. I know a woman whose, whose deepest image in life was to marry and have children. She never married and has no children. And I'm talking to all of you who have had a crashed image. What do you do? Because the vast majority of people have a crashed image. Now, A, does that mean we should not have images? No, it doesn't, because then why do you— how do you know what to aspire to? But there is a price paid for having images, and that is the failure. So the answer is, once that image has— is no longer possible, you create a new image. That's of a happy life. That's the answer. Is it hard? If it weren't hard, I wouldn't devote an hour every week to happiness, and I wouldn't ride a bike a bike. I wouldn't ride a bike or write a book titled Happiness Is a Serious Problem. Of course it's hard. Everything is hard. The, uh, the only easy thing is lying in the grave. That's easy. Living is hard. And so you, you have to— what you do is you, you can mourn that image. There may be a period of time where mourning is necessary. That might be an interesting thing to have with Steve Marmer. What people— how long should the mourning period be? When is it unhealthy? At what point is it even healthy to let go of an image in a day? Is that the healthiest person? It would seem to me not, if there's no mourning of the death of an image. I mean, people have these images. Now, some images are ridiculous, obviously. If you, you know, your image of life was wealthy, then that may be a ridiculous image. First of all, it's— comfortable is one thing, but wealthy is quite another. But that, I don't know how many people are afflicted with that. There might be some. 1-800-PRAGER-776. Let me take some of your calls. You make new images of a happy life. That's what you do. And we go to Jerry in Tucson, Arizona. Hello, Jerry. Dennis Prager. Hello, Jerry. Oh, too bad. That was a good call. I'll read to you what Eva wrote. He has 2 autistic children and a disabled wife. And he says, accepting what you have is the key. Yeah, I don't think that Jerry's image of a family life included 2 autistic children and a disabled wife. Nobody has that image. That's exactly right. So what's he supposed to do? Is he supposed to wake up every day and think, oh my God, this is nothing near what I had imagined? Or, okay, this is what I have now. What, what image can I manufacture of happiness with the reality that I have? That, that's what you do. I don't know if you have another choice. Yeah, you have another choice. Get depressed. Complain, get bitter. And people do that. A lot of people make that choice. I'm bitter. This is not— this is not what I imagined. Yes, that's right. It's not what you imagined. That's correct. Laura in Elk River, Minnesota. Dennis Prager. Hi, Laura.
Hi, Dennis. How are you?
I'm well, thank you.
Good.
Thanks for taking my call. When we were married, I think that we had that idea that we would be married and that we'd have children and that we'd retire eventually. And we have 4 children, but the youngest of 4 has autism and Down syndrome, and last February was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. So there was a period— talk about mourning— of what that image that you had, we had to completely have a change of image or a change of paradigm and think, well, how is our life going to be different? We're not— there's that possibility he may be with us forever. And so you have to have a major adjustment. And I've always thought of myself as being a very happy person no matter what happened, trying to make the best of it. And I think that, you know, in this case, I think that what you do is just that. You— maybe your goal instead of, you know, having the children out of the nest and having a college education, your goal is to teach them something new. Or, you know, you just have to change your goals. You have to change your priorities.
That's right. And you obviously seem to have done it, uh, at least somewhat successfully. I salute you. You know, I, I think that this applies to belief in God, Alan. I think people have images of God, then reality does not comport with that image of God, and then they become doubters or agnostics or atheists. That's one thing where I think images are destructive. God as a celestial butler, which is what most people think about God— he's up there to do me favors— is very destructive to religion and destructive to faith. I have never had an image of God like that, and that may be a reason I haven't had crises. We'll be back in a moment.
This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.
Precious metals dealers come and go. This is Nick Grovich, President of Amped Coin and Bullion. We've stood the test of time since 1983. With the flurry of coin and bullion dealers coming and going, how do you know who to trust and what to buy? At Amped Coin and Bullion, we value educated consumers. We want to alert you to good bullion buys in the market and help you steer clear of the tricks and bad deals. Call Amped Coin and Bullion for a free coin performance review. 800-221-7694 or americanfederal.com.
Now, back to more of Dennis Prager's timeless wisdom.
It's so important to make someone happy.
Make just one someone happy. Make just one heart-to-heart. You, you sing to one smile that cheers you. One face that lights when it nears you. One girl you're, you're everything to. Fame, if you win it, comes and goes in a minute. Thank you, Jimmy. This is Dennis Prager of the Happiness Hour, and it is a big one today. Well, there's— I often say that, and they often are. What can I do? But this one is so big that I have actually said I think it is the biggest obstacle to happiness except for human nature itself. And that is the images that we construct for our lives when we are young, generally. And then they very rarely pan out as we imagined. Our lives rarely pan out as we imagined. And then people get very unhappy. Because the imagery was the only way they could see themselves happy. After all, let's analyze, why am I unhappy? Why is a human unhappy if their image has not panned out? It is because that is the, the only vehicle they imagined a happy life. And so I'm telling you, there are happy lives available to you in other images, in other realities. It's very hard It's very hard because you have to reconstruct your brain, in effect, or reconstruct your mind. But it is possible. Obviously it is possible. Billions have done it. Well, maybe not billions. I don't know how many have done it. Alrighty, let's go to some, some more of your calls here. And let's go to Palms, California, and Diane. Hello, Diane. Dennis Prager.
Hi, Dennis. I do see how image is different from desire.
Yes.
But I don't see how it's different from expectation.
It's—
the truth is that all images are expectations, but not all expectations are the same as images. For example, we take health. I don't think we all have an— in effect, we all have an image of ourselves as healthy, but it's not part of the image that I'm talking about. That's why— but most people expect to be healthy, and I have always argued, and that's a big part of my book, is that expectations lead to unhappiness. The fewer expectations, the better. There's clearly a link between, a very strong link between expectations and images. You're absolutely right to make that point, and I should have made that point myself because I have argued all along that the less you expect, the happier you will be.
Yes. Oh, Dennis?
Yup.
I haven't read your book because I read at about 100 words a minute, which is really slow, but I—
Wait, wait, wait, wait. 100 words a minute is really slow?
Isn't it?
Hold on a second. So that means in the course of an hour you will read 6,000 words? Wait, what's 60 times— yeah, 60 times 100 is 6,000.
Yeah, that doesn't seem like very much.
My dear woman, that is not bad at all.
Most of the people I know read at 300 or 400.
Yeah, that's true, but so— Wait, wait, wait. They read at 300 or 400 a minute?
Uh-huh.
I want to think about that. What is a single-spaced Times Roman 12-point normal page that we print out on our laser printer, Alan? How many?
Huh?
250? No, it's more because I write an 800-word column on 2 sides. Okay, so 400. It's about 400, I think, on a side. Will I read that in a minute? I have to think about that. Anyway, I think I read slowly. It's funny that you should say that. So I don't know what to say. But you should— so I don't know.
Read it slowly.
But just so you'll read— exactly, read a page a day or leave it at your bathroom and I don't need to go beyond that. Alrighty, let's go to—
where—
oh, too bad. Alright. Let's go to Susan in Encino, California. Hi, Susan. Dennis Prager.
Hi, Dennis Prager. Thank you so much for your Happiness Hour. I live for it every week.
Oh, wow.
Thank you. And today's topic is especially timely for me because my image of my life was always that I have one child, one girl, and she's 28 years old and married. And all of her life, I knew that she would have children, and I dreamt of that child Like you can't believe, and she and her husband have decided that they will have no children. So my image crashed completely.
Of course. Especially when you see bumper stickers, happiness is having grandchildren.
Well, absolutely. And of course, at the age I am, 58, all of my friends' children are having children.
Yes, well, yes, of course.
So I'm always at baby showers, etc.
You know what? I, I, I want to speak to your son and daughter. I do. I do. I want to understand why they made that decision. I'm not kidding. I want you to drop me an email. I want to meet them. I, I offer you that. I have rarely done— I offer you that. Back in a moment.
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I didn't know until my soul broke free. I've got these angels watching over me.
Yeah.
Oh, watch me go.
I'm a happy girl.
Everybody knows that the sweetest thing that you'll ever see in the whole wide world is a happy girl.
That's a good choice. The sweetest thing you'll ever see in the whole wide world is a happy girl. That is right. And given that women are 3 times more likely to be depressed, it is specific to happy girls. There's a lot of truth to those lyrics.
Welcome back.
The Happiness Hour on the Dennis Prager Show. And after human nature itself with its insatiability, the greatest obstacle to happiness is the crashing of our images because we assumed them as our life and it was assumed that's the vehicle to happiness. And they're culturally induced. They're not all just— they're not all built in. I mean, some of them would seem to be built in, but they're also very cultural. And that doesn't make them bad, by the way. I like culture, good culture's values. The image of a happy family with kids and grandkids is not a bad image, folks. It's just that it is not available to great numbers of people. And even those who have kids and grandkids may have a lot more trouble in some ways with those kids or grandkids than they had ever imagined. images. Somebody once made a very interesting point about, about images of sexual images of women. And he made the point, he said, yeah, of course they're perfect. You know, they have no body odor. It's very— in our images, nobody has body odor. No, there are no flaws. Nobody gets sick. Nobody goes bankrupt. Nobody gets fired.
Right.
The images that we have are problem-free. So even if you are— your image has— let's say you do have the image of family, kids, grandkids. Are there— is there a family on Earth without problems? I don't mean little problems. I mean big problems. Maybe there are. But I don't know of any. And so, for everybody, there is an image problem. For everybody. For some, it's obviously the— there is no image at all of it. Those who imagine children and don't have children, those who imagine grandchildren and don't have grandchildren, like this last woman. I'm really curious to speak to that couple, though. I want to know why 26-year-olds have decided They're not going to have children. All right, 1-800-PRAGER-776 is the number. And let's go to— so by the way, let me repeat, what is the solution? The solution is new images. And does it sound easy to say? Yes, it's easy to say. Does it sound easy? Is it easy to do? No, it isn't. But is it doable? It absolutely is doable. Folks, there are many ways, and this is a theme I have not even developed. There are many ways to lead a happy life. There isn't only one vehicle to a happy life. Joseph is the guy who made that point to me so many years ago. I think we were in our 20s, and he just said, Dennis, the fact is there are just a lot of ways to lead a good life. 1-800-PRAGER-776. Where's our Air Force pilot dreamer? Here he is. Eric in Denver. Dennis Prager. Hi, Eric. Thank you for calling.
Hello, how are you?
Okay.
Good. Thanks for having me. I'm a little bit torn here. I'm not even sure I should have called, especially after your last comments there about changing your image. I told the screener that I was— when I was in college, this has been probably over 10 years ago, I was in Air Force ROTC on my way to flight school. And basically, I had been awarded one of the very few flight spots that are available through the Air Force. And my last semester of my senior year, I took a class, and this is getting way off the subject, but I took a class and ended up failing the class. I lost my commission, lost my— lost my, obviously, my spot to go to flight school down in Columbus, Mississippi.
Mm-hmm.
And I've had a— my wife, even to this day, she and I have been married now coming up on 6 years, It'll be 6 years this September. She catches me staring at airplanes all the time and kind of knows that I'm off in my, you know, what if, what, you know, what if type mindset. Sure, of course. And I don't know how to— I've got a, you know, a beautiful wife and a beautiful 2-and-a-half-year-old son, and, you know, got a good job, and I still can't get past this. Call it a mistake, you know, it was—
How many years is it that you are mourning this?
Uh, 10.
Yeah, that's a long time.
Yeah, it is.
Yeah, this is— this is now time for you to construct a new image, right? Uh, I totally identify and understand you have to celebrate what you have. You seem to have so much that so many people don't have. And if there are other ways to be affiliated perhaps with flying, I don't know what they would be. Uh, but, uh, but let, let it be an avocation in your life and make a living some— you know, you're obviously making a living, right?
Yes, correct.
Yeah, it's in an entirely different field.
Right. Yeah, I mean, I'm in sales, and that's— yeah, I guess that gets to part of the— part of my issue is that I've always been kind of more of a, of a doer, of kind of an action— not really an action-type person. That sounds— make it sound like some sort of superhero or something like that.
Well, become, become a super salesman, and I'm not joking with you. Uh, that, that's— when I was a waiter, I remember that was— I wanted to be super waiter. But you have to construct a new image. I mean, you— it's 10 years. Okay, it is time. It is now time. As Alan has put it, and I quote him in my own personal life all the time on this, he has 2 ways of saying this: that ship has sailed and that train has left the station. Those, those were Alan-esque phrases that I have adopted in my life. And sometimes when that ship has sailed and that train has left that station, you wave it goodbye. But once it is past the horizon, it's gone. That is why a lot of people want to believe in reincarnation. And I'm not saying yes or no. I'm just saying it's a very tempting belief. In that my soul will have a chance to be a pilot in the next life. We return on the Happiness Hour on The Dennis Prager Show.
This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.
Precious metals dealers come and go. This is Nick Grovich, president of Amped Coin and Bullion. We've stood the test of time since 1983. With the flurry of coin and bullion dealers coming and going, how do you know who to trust and what to buy? At Amped Coin and Bullion, we value educated consumers. We want to alert you to good bullion buys in the market and help you steer clear of the tricks and bad deals. Call AMFED Coin and Bullion for a free coin performance review. 800-221-7694 or americanfederal.com.
Now back to more of Dennis Prager's timeless wisdom.
And this one, this— if this hour was not life-changing for some of you, then I, then I Then I don't know what is. Because of this sense, the importance of this. And, and I was really open with you. I've had to grapple with this. And I explained why. And I, and I, I was open about Alan's life and, and everybody I know. We have very, very powerful images as, as, as children. And I don't only mean when we're 8. I mean when we're 18. In fact, it's more powerful when we're 18, of, of, of the life that we'll have. And then it doesn't pan out. And then, as I say, you have to, you have to construct new ones. And in Manhattan Beach, California, it's Joe. Hi, Joe. Dennis Prager.
Dennis Prager, this is the least expensive therapy lesson that's available. Thank you so much.
That's true, actually. Thank you.
And it's always a pleasure to hear you. But I just have one comment, and that is— or question— is how do you reconcile if you don't have these images to drive you to do things?
Oh, I want you to have the images. I said that at the outset. You can't live without images. Otherwise, what will you do every day?
Right, exactly.
I agree. I guess either I wasn't as assertive enough about that or you missed it, but I did not— No, no, no, who knows? It doesn't matter why. The fact is it needs to be repeated, and thank you for asking me to do so. I am not anti-images. In fact, I said construct new ones. That's my whole point to you. If the last image, if the train has left the station, you get a new train, or a horse and buggy, or a taxi, or a car, or a camel. You don't stand still, in other words. You don't stay at the station mourning the departure of the train. You have to mourn. You're not normal if you don't mourn the death of a dream, the death of an image. Of course not. But there are many ways to be happy. That's what I'm— and be fulfilled. That's what I'm trying to tell you. And that's what you must know. All of us must know. What about the person who had every image and then— I'm thinking of a woman who had the greatest marriage I know when her husband died, and it's at 60. She has to construct new images even though she's been blessed her whole life. All right, now call in on anything on your mind. 1-800-PRAGER-776. I hope this helped. I'm Dennis Prager.
On tomorrow's episode of Dennis Teaches the Torah.
Whatever you ask of God, you would ask of God under any circumstance. If God allowed one person to die of the Anopheles mosquito in Africa, You would have the right to ask, where was God? No matter what the level of evil in the world, you would have a right to ask, where was God? Why didn't he stop it sooner? How did he let it happen? And that's why the question, while we all have it emotionally, is not intellectually, I think, that sound. Because whatever the amount of evil, you would say, why didn't he stop it sooner? And I don't know the answer, obviously. All I know is though, that as soon as there's any, you'd ask that question. Why then did God— why then did God now decide to intervene? I have, I have a thought to offer you.
Come back tomorrow for Dennis Prager's signature series on the first 5 books of the Bible. Dennis Teaches the Torah. Visit DennisPrager.com for thousands of hours of Dennis's lectures, courses, and classic radio programs, and to purchase Dennis Prager's Rational Bibles. We want to take just a second to thank the team at Life Audio for their partnership with us on the podcast. Go to LifeAudio.com to find dozens of other faith-centered podcasts in their network, including shows about prayer, Bible study, parenting, And more.
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