mud pies

i read this yesterday in my book a year with c.s.lewis, and wanted to share it with you all. it's scrumptious.

"the new testament has a lot to say about self-denial. nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do so contains an appeal to desire. if there lurks in most modren minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, i submit that this notion has crept in from kant and stocics and is no part of the christian faith. indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that the Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. we are half-hearted creatures when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum b/c he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. we are far too easily pleased."