This evening my wife baked a dozen muffins. I ate one. It was really good. So I had another. At this point my head said, “Fine. Good stuff. However, that’s enough.” But my nose and eyes kept looking at the tray saying “Just one more.” My head said, “Okay. But that’s all.” I don’t know how to explain the next half hour. I must have taken out my brain and put it on the mantel because after that I ate three more. I don’t feel so well. Why did I eat until I was on the brink of ill?
Why do we do all manner of “pleasurable” activities when we know the results are not going to be good? God gave us brains to govern but we foolishly surrender to desire. It’s not that pleasure is bad. It’s a question of moderation. The very thing we so desired becomes repugnant. I really don’t want to see another muffin, at least not for quite some time.
There are the pleasures of the flesh but also pleasures of the mind. Why could I not be this very moment filled with the pleasure of knowing I had allowed reason to prevail? The mental joy would not have left me nauseous. I would sleep better tonight and be more refreshed in the morning. Alas.
The battle of reason over desire has been the bane of human progress. What is very disconcerting is often we allow desire to distort our reason and we deceive ourselves into thinking we were reasonable when all we do is create excuses to feed desire. Listen carefully the next time you hear an argument. Note how each side invents spurious ideas to defend a passion. It is not easy being human.
Written by Roger Bothwell on April 3, 2013
Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org