Making Mud Pies in the Slum......

The other day while searching on the net, I came across a piece of text from one of C.S. Lewis's Sermons (The weight of Glory). For those of you have not heard about CS. Lewis here is a brief intro;

Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis was a Northern Irish academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, and Christian apologist. He is also known for his fiction, especially The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Space Trilogy. C.S.Lewis was also an athiest until his conversion to Christianity at a later point in life.

The following is the text;

"Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, 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, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

Over the past couple of days I have read this over a dozen times. Each time I read this the, truth in the statement keeps hitting my face. Looking at the world around as it is today, with its persistent pursuit of pleasure (in the worldly sense), I could not better agree with C.S. Lewis.

All of us at different points in time have been a victim of this aimless pursuit. Not considering the end effects of this relentless sojourn after pleasure, most of them end up being more dissatisified than ever. Then one thinks, perhaps we havent had enough and dives deeper into the pleasure cualdron until they gasp for breath.

For many of us it is a chasing after money & fame, for many other it is the world of sexual pleasure (I think most of us have fallen prey to this at different points in time), then of course stuff that elevates the mind. We could broadly classify it into 3, Materialistic, Physical and Mental Pleasure. If we observe around us most of humanity is in this pursuit and we end up becoming slaves to them. Though many of us may not want to agree with this bitter truth, it is a fact that most of the people are under the bondage of this aimless pursuit. Many of them even if they wanted to come out are unable to and end up justifying the same.

And yes, we do end up making not just mud pies but steaks, Sizzlers & a full feast with dirty mud in the slums.

It is disheartening to note that many homes & lives are ruined in this process. It would have been fine if we did not have any other choice. But the fact remains there is a choice of pleasure that is beyond anything we could think or imagine, a joy & pleasure that is everlasting & fulfilling. Most of them are blind to this fact and some pretend to be blind. You know we really need not run behind these unfulfilling desires. We have a choice.

It says in the scriptures that God will fill us with eternal pleasure which is at his right hand (now those reading, you say I dont believe in all this conservative, traditional God stuff, just force yourself to read ahead, it may not be interesting but could be insightful). Isnt it interesting that God does care about pleasure and there are pleasures at the right hand of God (pls do not take the right hand to mean physical hands).

But he offers us a different form of pleasure, one that is eternal & permanent and not transient. Even an over indulgence in that pleasure will not ruin you but will build us up. It is not one that would lead you to bondage but into freedom. It is not something that would lead you to destruction and death but to abundant life that is everlasting. I wonder why man would not desire this kind of pleasure and chooses to settle in for such insignificant, trivial ones. All of them talk about aiming for the sky in our desires and ambition. What about in our desire for pleasure. I suggest you aim for the Heavens :)

And it is all the more interesting that this pleasure that he offers is not conditional or bought with a price (thats exciting isnt, its free, not a penny to be paid) It is a free gift. You dont even have to give up your other pleasures and choose this, though once you chose this you will let go of the others.

It is finally a place where you will feel at home. It is everlasting, its truly an offer of a holiday at sea. I guarantee it will give you a high...... :):)

Why would you say no to it??

Obed

10/12/08