I was reading the book 'The Screwtape Letters' by CS Lewis and one chapter talked about pleasures. Earthly pleasures originate from our Father and they are good in nature. I learnt that the characteristic of Pain and Pleasure are unmistakably real and give the man who feels them a touch of reality. The enemy doesn't want us to have real pleasure and he makes it a rule to eradicate from us any strong personal taste, even if it is something quite trivial as a fondness for collecting stamps.
There is a sort of innocence and humility and forgetfulness about such things. The man who truly and disinterestedly enjoys any one thing in the world for its own sake, without caring about what others think, is by that very fact forearmed against the enemy's subtle mode of attack. The enemy will always try to make us abandon the books or food we really like in favour of the 'right' food or 'important' books.
The great thing for the enemy is to prevent us from doing anything. As long as we have desires but do not convert it into action, it doesn't matter how much we think about them. Active habits are strengthened by repetition but passive ones are weakened. The more often a man feels without acting, the less he will be able to act and in the long run, the less he will be able to feel.
The thing about fulfilling one's desires and having pleasure over that fulfilment is that somehow it mysteriously connects us to our true nature, to how our Father made us to be. When God talks about losing ourselves, it means the fleshly nature of us and once we have submitted to His will, He gives us back all our personality. When we are wholly His, we will be more of ourselves than we ever were. God hates to see us drifting away from our own nature for any other reason.
In the past I have been taught that it wasn't healthy to indulge in our pleasures, as if having too much joy over that was a sin. I had the erroneous view that to deny ourselves of pleasure, of what we want is actually a holy thing. Once we do that, like when we fast from food, we can then truly concentrate on God. This seems to imply that when we are enjoying the pleasures of life, we have a tendency to forget Him.
Perhaps this could be true for someone who is not conscious of God and in tune with Him. But for someone who is in the flow with God, experiencing pleasure is a very good thing indeed. Bible says that hope deferred makes the heart sick but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. God knows that if we keep denying ourselves of the simple pleasures in life, if we get disappointed again and again over unfulfilled desires, this will work against our well being instead.
Yesterday I was just thinking about why the Lord recently wants me to fulfil my desires and not postpone them nowadays. More than just wanting to make me happy, God wants me to be in touch with reality. Pleasures give me a touch of reality, the reality of longing fulfilled. It brings me to the present rather than overly focused on an uncertain future. Other than bombarding me with messages about now is the appointed time, Abba also wants me to have the experiential feeling of the reality of fulfilled promises.
The other purpose of fulfilling my desires, however small or insignificant they may be is the effect of action, to get down to do something about it. I talked about how God is trying to form a new habit in my life. Now I understand why. Active and positive habits are strengthened by repetition but passive ones are weakened. The more often I feel without acting, the less I will be able to act and in the long run, the less I will be able to feel.
I recognise it is a good thing to have a desire to do something, buy something or go somewhere. There is a sort of innocence and humility and forgetfulness about pursuing my interests. It is also a defence against the enemy's attacks. I remember some time ago when I was feeling depressed, I literally didn't have any desires for I lost interest or passion in life. It was very sad to not have any desires or passion for anything. All I wanted to do then was nothing and mope around at home.
The enemy will always try to make us abandon the books or food we really like in favour of the 'right' food or 'important' books. No wonder there is always this small voice that will say don't eat this food for it is 'heaty' (like fired stuff causing sore throat) and I will give up that idea. Or if I pursue in eating that food, I would feel guilty at the slightest sign of dry throat. Then I would shrink back from fulfilling such desires if they arise in future.
Lately I have been feeling the prompting to fulfil the desires of my heart without delay. The Lord doesn't even want me to wait for a promotion or sale or discount. It wasn't as if He couldn't afford to buy me that thing at its original price, for I am well worth it and nothing is too expensive for Him. Cross out that idea of value for money. Some things will never ever be value for money, especially luxury items.
And somehow doing the things I like without a care of what others say is a form of liberty and freedom in itself. It frees me up to be who God made me to be. I am never more happy when I am doing the things I like. I derive a huge sense of satisfaction from having those desires fulfilled even if no one in the world cares about it. And it kind of connects me to myself. This is who I really am, who God made me to be.
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