Mud Pies and Chocolate Cake

If there lurks in most modern 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 the Stoics 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 our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

Ever read this quote from “The Weight of Glory” before? I think it is one of the most profound theological notions that Lewis ever set forth in his writing career, and yet one that is not commonly quoted or used in discussions.

One could argue otherwise, but I think I’ve got John Piper on my side for this one! Piper himself has used it as a nugget of credibility in his own preaching and writings, when he makes the well-known claim that “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him,” (book)

After reading this C.S. Lewis quote in “The Dangerous Duty of Delight” over Vacation, I was freshly convicted of all the “mud pies” in my own life. Why do I settle like an ignorant child for lesser joys, when infinite joy in Christ awaits me each morning I rise? How easily pleased I can be! How half-hearted is my passion and pursuit of God at times, who is my “exceeding joy”! (Psalm 43:4)

As I ushered back into weekly Dorm Meetings this past Tuesday evening with my girls, I decided to use this idea as the theme of our devotional. In an attempt to bring this quote to life, I decided to have real “mud pies” sitting on the coffee table as we started. Now, the girls look forward to Tuesday nights because they get “Dorm Treats,” such as cookies, homemade bagels, chips and salsa, caramel popcorn, bread sticks, whatever. You name it, they’ll eat pretty much anything that is edible! It is their one real “homemade” taste of the week, since they eat daily in the Cafeteria. So, you can probably imagine how confused and surprised they were to find real dirt, muddy, black pies sitting there when they all came into my apartment at 8:30. Quizzical looks of disgust and furrowed eyebrows met my eye, but I met their questioning faces with a smile and said, “Girls, I am just SO excited for tonight’s dorm treat! We get to have Mud Pies! Isn’t that fantastic? After all, a little dirt never hurt, right?”

Ok, so they weren’t convinced, but it certainly kept them intrigued and leaning forward to see what I would do next.

Instead of automatically explaining my point, I then led them into a discussion of the quote. It was such a sweet time! We began by laying the groundwork of God’s heart for us. It’s not that “lesser joys” are inheritantly sinful – in fact, we know from God’s Word that He created all things for our enjoyment and pleasure! And, sometimes, very specific things bring unique joy to individuals because of particular interest, gifting, or talent.

We also bashed the claim that the Puritans formed a dreary, gray, humbug community of Christians who lived dull, joyless lives. They were not in legalistic chains. Holiness did not drag them down into unhappy restriction, but bolstered them into righteous freedom through obedience to God. Though I’ve only been at RVA for 5 months and my interactions with MK’s have been limited, I have noticed that many of the kids here almost begrudging of the radical claims of Christ on their lives, because they think God is a stingy Father. So, I really wanted to encourage my girls that though Christ claims all, He isn’t claiming that we surrender true joy. Truly, it is at the moment of absolute surrender that we discover the divine joys of God that cannot compare to what we find on this earth.

After (briefly) laying this groundwork, I threw out a simple question: “What is one mud pie in your life that pulls you away from pursuing true joy in the Gospel and in Jesus?” When they had taken a minute to write down their thoughts on an index card, we then began to share with each other what those “Mud Pies” were. Here is a list of what they came up with:

Schoolwork (finishing it, doing well in it)
Friendships/Relationships
Reputation
Sleep
Control
Love of Others vs. Love of God
Fear of man (pleasing others)
To-Do Lists
Personal gifts and talents: writing, music, sports
Beauty/Self-image
Money & the power it brings (shopping, spending, etc.)

As I sat there, I was blown away at the depth of their insights. Here are these precious 14 and 15 year-old girls, vulnerably confessing the very sins that I myself at 24 STILL find to be a struggle! I can “check” off all these temptations without hesitation. Humbled and grateful, I thanked the girls for sharing from their hearts and being honest about which “lesser joys” they easily turn to instead of the Lord. If these things far too easily please us, then what a hope we have in the far surpassing pleasures that are to be found in the pursuit of the Gospel of Christ!

As we concluded our time together, Philippians 3 provided a hope-filled and inspiring perspective for us to sleep on:

7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Mud-pies ARE rubbish. And, if we want to “gain Christ and be found in Him,” then surely, we will flee from the slum to the shore, eager to chase Exceeding Joy as the deer chases after streams of water (Psalm ).

Perhaps you’ll still wondering about the Dorm Treat last night. Did the girls actually EAT the mud pies? Don’t worry – I’m not that cruel ☺ The girls drooled with delight as I pulled out a surprise Chocolate –Caramel – Coconut dusted Cake, in celebration of Kirsten’s 15th birthday (Jan 13).

Sighs of relief ensued, we sang Happy Birthday, Kirsten blew out her candles, and soon, the girls were digging into the ooey-gooey layers of sugar and fat and caffeine ☺ Perhaps not the most ideal thing to give teenage girls right before bedtime, but hey! what kind of boring Dorm Mom would finish off the evening with something too…sensible? If Christ offers radical joy, I figured I should probably offer a radical 10pm snack.