Dominick Albano

I was told once that an old African catechism stated:

Q: Why did God create the world?
A: Because He thought we would like it.

I’ve tried researching this, and frankly, I don’t know if it’s true. But it’s a wonderful idea regardless… the thought that the God of the universe would be so delighted by us that He’d make all of this out of love for us.

Imagine walking around this earth, seeing its beauty, and thinking, God did that for me.

That sunrise? It’s for me.
The beautiful blanket of fresh white snow? God thought I would like it.

Of course, it’s harder to look at the more challenging aspects of life and believe God gave us those, too. But the truth is, in God’s economy, every part of life is a chance to grow closer to Him or move further from Him, to choose holiness or not, and to build His Kingdom or our own.

And that’s the central question: Whose kingdom are you building?

New Year’s is a funny time, a time of renewal when many of us feel motivated by the energy of new beginnings and fresh starts. Culturally, we’re encouraged to examine our lives, find areas we wish were better, start new habits, break old ones, and move forward.

In theory, this is all great. But now is also a perfect time to consider the why behind your ways.

Are you rooting out sin, breaking bad habits, purifying yourself from things that hold you back from the Lord? Or are you building something for yourself? For someone else?

The truth is, we can do a lot of really good things for really bad reasons. We can get caught in the trap of building our own kingdom instead of God’s. “Thy Kingdom come” becomes “my kingdom come.”

Consider the people in your life. We’ve all met those who are building their own little kingdoms around some aspect of their life—even if they don’t think of it that way. They pour all of their time, energy, and attention into building their business, career, kids’ sports teams, physique, lawn… any of a million things where they find control, accomplishment, and pride.

Brick by brick, we build a kingdom through the choices we make. And sometimes—many times—the why behind those choices is just as important as the choices themselves. Is there anything wrong with being ambitious about your career, wanting your kid to be the best on the team, or wanting 7% body fat? No. But the minute we find ourselves doing what we want, rather than doing what we believe God wants us to do… then we’re in trouble.

Let me be clear: I’m not trying to shine a light on the horrors of New Year’s resolutions. Nor am I condemning ambition. It would be hypocritical, as most people would describe me as ambitious, and I wholeheartedly believe in taking advantage of the forward thrust of new beginnings to motivate ourselves.

But the why… we can’t forget about the why.

Whenever I forget to ask myself, “Whose kingdom am I building?” that’s usually when I find myself accidentally going astray. So this month, shine a light on your why, ask yourself, “What does God want me to do?” and don’t forget: whatever happens when you build God’s Kingdom, God created the world…

…because He thought you’d like it.

Dominick Albano is a passionately Catholic husband and father of four boys. He has been writing, speaking, and leading Catholic retreats for more than 20 years. He is the co-founder of the National Society for Priestly Vocations.

This article appeared in the January 2026 edition of The Catholic Telegraph Magazine. For your complimentary subscription, click here.