17 August
Bent Appetites
Chastity is the most unpopular of Christian virtues. There is no getting away from it; the Christian rule is, 'Either marriage, with complete faithfulness to your partner, or else total abstinence.' Now this is so difficult and so contrary to our instincts, that obviously either Christianity is wrong or our sexual instinct, as it now is, has gone wrong. One or the other. Of course, being a Christian, I think it is the instinct which has gone wrong.
But I have other reasons for thinking so. The biological purpose of sex is children, just as the biological purpose of eating is to repair the body. Now if we eat whenever we feel inclined and just as much as we want, it is quite true most of use will eat too much: but not terrifically too much. One man may eat enough for two, but he does not eat enough for ten. The appetite goes a little beyond its biological purpose, but not enormously. But if a healthy young man indulged his sexual appetite whenever he felt inclined, and if each act produced a baby, then in ten years he might easily populate a small village. This appetite is in ludicrous and preposterous excess of its function.
Or take it another way. You get a large audience together for a stripe-tease act—that is, to watch a girl undress on the stage. Now suppose you come to a country where you could fill a theatre by simply bringing a covered plate on to the stage and then slowly lifting the cover so as to let every one see, just before the lights went out, that it contained a mutton chop or a bit of bacon, would you not think that in that country something had gone wrong with the appetite for food? And would not anyone who had grown up in a different world think there was something equally queer about the state of the sex instinct among us?
—from Mere Christianity
| August 17
Wisdom is before him that hath understanding; but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth (17:24).
It was boring, that was all there was to it. He tried to pay attention, but no matter how hard he tried, his mind just started wandering. Who cared about English anyway? He could read, he could write his name, that was better than a lot of people these days. He just could care less. It was much more interesting to gaze out the window and dream about the future. He planned on making lots of money and having lots of fun. He'd go to a good college and get a good job. Yeah, he knew everybody said his grades weren't good enough, but he'd find some way. High school was dumb. College was a different thing. He'd really apply himself then, but for now, it was boring.
Too many people live for the future instead of for today. We dream of how things might be, and we ignore how things really are. We focus our eyes far up along the road, and we miss all the sights around us now. The wise person lives today to the best of their ability in order to create a better tomorrow. The fool continually dreams of things he or she wants to do without making any of the necessary preparations. It is good and right to hope for things in the future, but we are responsible to do everything we can to make them come true. Tomorrow doesn't mean a thing unless we have lived well today.
prayer: Lord, bless this day, which is a precious gift from you. I thank you for every day that I live. Life is a wonderful gift, and one that I can never hope to repay. Take my life, and consecrate it to your love. Amen.
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