Kudos once again to John Piper for these thoughts.
This is a continuation of my previous blog "I just want to be happy!" Please read and agree with that one first.
If God is truly the most satisfying thing in existence, what are the implications for us? This is the question that this blog sets out to begin to answer. The implications are many, so I will try to mention just a few of them that I have seen in my next series of blogs.
1) Self-denial for the sake of Christ is really self-gratification.
Our culture, our natural selves, and external spiritual forces all tell us that if we want to be happy, God is not where we should look. We are told that we should look for happiness in safety, success, material wealth, popularity, friendship, romance, religiosity, knowledge, adventure, beauty, self-awareness, physical fitness, acheivement, sex, food, mind-altering substances, hobbies, careers, politics, good deeds, entertainment, or any other number of things and people that are not God.
Giving up those things to chase after the Lord is like giving up mud-pies in the gutter for a banquet by the sea. We're giving up tin so that we can have gold. In reality, we will only be truly happy if we bend all of our time, energy, emotion, intellect, and will towards the singular purpose of getting closer to the Lord.
2) The most loving thing that we can do for a person is to point them to Christ.
To be truly loving is not just giving someone what they want, but rather it is giving someone what will make them the most deeply happy for the longest time. If a mother feeds her child nothing but cookies and ice cream, the child may be filled with much affection for her, but will she really be loving that child? No, she should give her child a healthy, well balanced diet, including things the child may not enjoy eatting. She should do this because she knows that it will be better for the child in the long run.
Similarly, if we always speak sugary words with little real value to them, how can we call ourselves loving? Many times, the truth may be difficult to swallow. But if we refrain from speaking the truth, we will only be contributing our neighbors' gluttonous hearts, much like the mother who only feeds her child sweets. Instead, we need to carefully consider our words and actions and decide what will be the best way to point our neighbors to Christ. Sometimes that may mean being gentle, while other times it may mean being harsh. We ought to weigh out what will be most beneficial for them in the long run. Anything less than this is not real love.