He tells us some good stuff today. We so often err into thinking that God is trying to keep us from happiness. That He wants us to suffer and give up anything that makes us happy.
But as Lewis points out, the only times God DOES ask us to give something up (and He DOES do this, of course) is because He has something much MUCH better planned for us. What He wants for us is the best.
This is life, though. Life is messy. Sometimes we DO end up choosing the good instead of the best. We even sometimes end up choosing the not so good, or the downright terrible, instead of the best. This is easily seen in the area of sexuality. God doesn't tell us to only have sex in marriage because He is trying to deprive us of something. He tells us this because He wants us to have the best sexual experiences, and for them to become what He intended... children. He doesn't want us to sleep around with lots of people outside of marriage, because that ends badly for everyone involved. The same is true for all of the other things He teaches us.
He tells us not to be gluttons, not because food is bad, but because eating too much of it keeps us from enjoying our lives as much as we would if we ate in moderation. Alcohol is another obvious example. He turned water into wine, not so the wedding party could get smashed and forget their wedding day, but so that they could enjoy some wine and allow it to make their experience better.
As Lewis says so well, we are far too easily pleased. We play around with drugs and porn and alcoholism and laziness... when we could be living the great adventure that He has called us to in our lives. He wants us to be DEEPLY happy, all the way to our core. And mucking about with our mud pies when the holiday at the ocean is waiting... well that's just foolishness.
God, help us to be less easily pleased. And to take You at Your word for our deep happiness.
2 comments:
A holiday at the ocean sounds nice.
The beach does sound like a great idea!
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