I Really Don't Want to Give Something Up

I am reminded, when I hear this objection, of C.S. Lewis’ brilliant response to one of his contemporaries who declared they “did not want to go to Heaven, because they’d heard you could not have sex there.”

C.S. replied, “This is like the 12 year old boy who declared he never wanted to have sex, because he’d heard you could not eat chocolate while doing it!”

No one minds “giving something up” when the thing they get for it far exceeds the benefits of the thing they currently have. Thus, young men refuse to “lose their freedom” … up until the moment they meet that one young lady they really can’t live without! Then “freedom” becomes of secondary importance, or is forgotten altogether. That young man only cherishes freedom when it is freedom from everyone else he’s known, NOT when it’s freedom from his ideal woman.

What is it that you don’t want to give up? The “right” to sin? The “freedom” to make your own choices? The association of companions you “have fun” with? I would say you only value the supposed freedom to sin because you’ve never imagined the amazing freedom of being able NOT to sin! You only value the supposed right to your own choice because you’ve only ever tasted your choice (chocolate) and cannot even imagine the exquisite joy of His choice (marital bliss).

It’s all a matter of contrast, isn’t it? To someone who’s never tasted chocolate, a carrot may seem pretty sweet. To someone who’s never experienced sex, chocolate may seem to be the ultimate in enjoyment! And to you, who do not know the Lord (yes, in the Biblical sense of “to know”), then your choice might seem to be better than knowing Him.

But those of us who’ve tasted chocolate, who’ve enjoyed marital bliss, and (especially) who know the Lord, can only smile at your statement. Not in a better-than-thou way. Oh no. Each one of us tastes chocolate for the first time…. each one of us has a wedding night (if we marry , that is!) … and each one of us – it is to be hoped – has that JOY yet in store, of knowing God and being known by Him.

You can choose to distrust chocolate and stick with a carrot…. You can distrust human relationships and remain single (and unfulfilled), and you can choose to distrust God. Refusing to give up ANYthing for Him is refusing to trust Him, by the way.

But which choice do you think leads to the more exciting, more “tasty,” more blessed life?