The Land of the Easily Amused

While most people would like to tell you that they are working hard to find satisfaction, completion, that sort of thing, I am of the opinion that C.S. Lewis was right when he said that we are "far too easily pleased." Think about it. People are working hard to satisfy their lusts, to find their little patch of happiness, to get a little peace and quiet. They would like to be able to have more stamina, to get along with people, to be remembered as a good person. All well and good.

And then we read,

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Gal 5:22-23)

So we're muddling about trying to appease little demons and finding some success while God has bigger and better things in mind. He'd like to take those lusts and replace them with genuine love. He'd like to substitute joy for that momentary happiness. He'd replace "peace and quiet" with a peace that passes understanding (Phil 4:7). He doesn't offer us mere stamina; He offers genuine patience. We won't be getting along with people; we will be genuinely kind. Memories of being a good person is fine, but He offers actual goodness. And gentleness. And self-control.

While we're busily mucking about here finding little scents of something pleasant and considering that satisfaction, God wants to make us into something really marvelous, replacing our poor substitutes for the real thing, the divine alternative. But not us. We come from the Land of the Easily Amused. We'll pass on that, thank you very much.

Too easily pleased.