Many might have read or heard this quote before from The Weight of Glory, but below is a stirring quote by the great C.S. Lewis on desire.
Perhaps every desire that does arise within, even every wicked desire, is simply calling us towards he who is The Desire. Maybe we should not immediately suppress, push away these desires, but rather ask why such desires truly exist.
Listen to Lewis:
“……it would seem that Our Lord finds our desire not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, we are like ignorant children who want to continue making mud pies in a slum because we cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a vacation at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
Great Scott – “We are far too easily pleased” says a lot – We seek for the pleasure that does not last in that which is easy – God has something so much greater for us yet we set the bar low.
I love that quote.
Piper uses it in “Desiring God”, and rightfully so, I think.
Hedonism isn’t wrong, because worship is expected to be a pleasurable experience. The problem is idolatrous hedonism. Idolatrous hedonism is seeking pleasure in that which doesn’t truly have the capacity to satisfy as we need satisfying.
I truly need to break out my CSL again and read.