Chapter 7- 101 Uses for Wood

"...prevail upon a man to join in any amusement whatever, and as long as that lasts he will be happy; but it will be a false and imaginary happiness, arising not from the possession of real and solid good, but from a levity of spirit that obliterates the recollection of his real miseries, and fixes his thoughts upon mean and ridiculous objects, unworthy of his attention, and still less deserving of his love."

Two thoughts: 1) I love the word obliterate, I need to use it more often and 2) Thank you Pascal for that smack in the face.

Such a hard thing to absorb. We chase after things to make us happy and to enjoy the moment, but if we really look at those objects for what they truly are will we find they are mere idols, mere distractions turning our attention away from the "real and solid good"? It's such a tricky dilemma. We know we were made for pleasure and yet it's so easy to make those little pleasures our objects of worship.

I think the answer lies in looking for the better offer that God gives us whatever that may be. To never settle for less than the greatness He can give. That takes a level of balance and a constant vigilance.

Look how Isaiah views it:
15 It is man's fuel for burning;
some of it he takes and warms himself,
he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
But he also fashions a god and worships it;
he makes an idol and bows down to it.

16 Half of the wood he burns in the fire;
over it he prepares his meal,
he roasts his meat and eats his fill.
He also warms himself and says,
"Ah! I am warm; I see the fire."

17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol;
he bows down to it and worships.
He prays to it and says,
"Save me; you are my god."

18 They know nothing, they understand nothing;
their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see,
and their minds closed so they cannot understand.

19 No one stops to think,
no one has the knowledge or understanding to say,
"Half of it I used for fuel;
I even baked bread over its coals,
I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left?
Shall I bow down to a block of wood?"

20 He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him;
he cannot save himself, or say,
"Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?"

How easily we can get entangled in serving the things that were meant to serve us? The key is in verse 19. "No one stops to think."

BTW, in case I haven't mentioned I am making my way through John Eldredge's "The Journey of Desire" so a lot of this stuff I am exploring I am getting from that book. There is a great quote by him that goes "To desire is to open our hearts to the possibility of pain; to shut down our hearts is to die altogether."

There is a danger in living passionately. There is the temptation to cross over to the Dark Side and just give in to living for the feeling instead of letting it take you further toward God. The Star Wars analogy has been made again and again and for very good reason. Anakin Skywalker is a passionate man who simply lets his passion distract him from what the bigger picture is. In the same way Luke has to make the same decision. I'll digress for fear of going complete dork mode but you see where I'm going. (Incidently, we see the same thing in Gollum, okay I'll stop).

My hope and my prayer is to keep my eyes open. Right now, they are wide open and seeking. God help me use the wood and not worship the wood.