Reggie Weems Blog

August 21, 2008

Divine Desire (Part 2)

Filed under: Uncategorized — Reggie @ 5:20 pm

As the twentieth century progressed, the me first mindset was transformed into a me only mentality.  This was evidenced in a small part by things like road rage, a generation of frivolous lawsuits, an astronomical increase in the divorce rate and a billion dollar pleasure seeking industry.  Last year’s spouse, clothes, car, home and job need to be replaced the latest models.  Our unrest is the repercussion of a “a passion [that] can not but fret and torment the spirit, when it finds not wherewith to satisfy its cravings.”  Even worse is that we’re not only trying to satisfy ourselves but impress a world, most of whom we don’t even know.  Think about it, if we were only trying to impress ourselves, the designer clothing label would be on the inside of the clothes.  This whirlpool of degradation has regurgitated a people who contribute little and to whom the world owes everything.  Everyone wants to be happy but apparently no one knows how to be happy.  Yet ignorance never stopped American ingenuity from wearying itself in the effort to achieve eternal bliss.  But nothing can satisfy the cravings of a person created for eternity except eternity itself.   


Unrequited affections madly and blindly drive us to seek self-satisfaction. Scougal responded to humanity’s dilemma by asserting that only the love of God could rescue mankind.  God’s love, especially when it is considered as wholly undeserved and contrasted with the damnation which is deserved, is the ultimate answer to the human quest for happiness.  If, according to Scougal, a “noble and well-placed affection doth advance and improve the spirit unto a conformity with the perfections which it loves” (Scougal, 62) then responding to God’s love only serves to make the most heavenly, holy and happy people.  Man’s chief end is achieved when he glorifies God by enjoying Him.  According to Scougal, godliness is the sole answer to humanity’s crisis and godliness is the natural result of experiencing God’s love.  The love of God is the only cure for humanity’s sickness.  Inherent within the human condition is the divine desire to experience the eternal, unconditional love of God as expressed through Jesus Christ.  Knowing and receiving God’s love promises to birth an earthly bound, heavenly-minded people whose thoughts, affections and resulting behaviors create a fulfilled life.   

 

 

1 Comment »

  1. 1 Cor 15:32 If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

    Today’s Hedonism would make sense to Paul, who recognized that the “me only” mentality is the way people will live if they believe that the dead are not raised. So the solution is to give ourselves fully to the Lord and teach about the everlasting life. As Paul says:

    “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

    58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

    Comment by Paul Schmidt — August 21, 2008 @ 10:54 pm

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