P R O N E TO WA N D E R by Nicole Byrum
Have you ever wondered why doing the things that are good for you come with such difficulty? We know that exercise, even 20 minutes of walking, is beneficial to our physical health. Yet so often we neglect this activity. Similarly, we know that eating fruits and vegetables provides our bodies with the vitamins and nutrients we need to feel good and stay healthy. Nevertheless, we opt for cookies or takeout over the much-needed produce in our fridge. This principle is true even when it comes to our relationships. We know we should put the phone down and have a meaningful conversation with our spouse, but instead, we choose to keep scrolling. Why do we do this? It seems to come down to a matter of desire; for what we desire most in the moment is what we are inclined to choose. As much as we might want to be healthy and fit, there are moments when our desires for convenience or rest are even stronger. So instead of choosing what we know is the better thing for us, we eat the junk food and forgo the workout. Essentially, we give up the thing we really want because our desire for it weakens. Somehow we forget how good it actually is.
The same can be said of our walk with the Lord as far too often our desires for the things of this world trump our desire for the things of God. For instance, as much as we want to cultivate a growing relationship with our Heavenly Father, there are many moments when we instead more strongly desire the mindless entertainment of television or social media over time spent in the Word or prayer. Or more simply, we come to desire the entanglements of sin more than our relationship with Jesus. The heart of the matter is, we are a people prone to wander when we lose sight of the glory of God. In turn, our desire for Him fades and we forget our first love. C.S. Lewis put it this way: “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.” What then can be done?
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