A dogmatic belief in objective value is necessary to the very idea of a rule which is not tyranny or an obedience which is not slavery.
C. S. LewisRead
Never forget that when we are dealing with any pleasure in its healthy and normal and satisfying form, we are, in a sense, on the Enemy’s (God’s) ground…He [God] made the pleasure: all our research so far has not enabled us to produce one. All we can do is to encourage the humans to take the pleasures which our Enemy [God] has produced, at at times, or in ways, or in degrees, which He [God] has forbidden.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the divine origin of pleasure and warns against indulging in it in forbidden ways.
C. S. Lewis highlights that all genuine pleasures come from God, and attempts to create or manipulate these pleasures outside of His intended uses lead to moral and spiritual pitfalls. The quote warns us to recognize the sanctity of pleasure as a gift from God, while also acknowledging the temptation to misuse these gifts in ways deemed inappropriate or forbidden.
Themes
PleasureGodTemptationWisdomMorality
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a sermon to reflect on the divine nature of joy and pleasure.
More from C. S. Lewis
All quotes →I enjoyed my breakfast this morning, and I think that was a good thing and do not think it was condemned by God. But I do not think myself a good man for enjoying it.
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Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
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Forgiving and being forgiven are two names for the same thing. The important thing is that a discord has been resolved.
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I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. It doesn't change God - it changes me.
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The instrument through which you see God is your whole self. And if a man's self is not kept clean and bright, his glimpse of God will be blurred
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