Desires of eyes, flesh, and pride

For all that is in the world- the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions- is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

- 1 John 2.16-17

These verses are a reminder of all the earthly things we let occupy our thoughts, eyes, and feelings and how all of them will pass away. We keep none of it. No matter how hard we work for it, we can't keep it. No matter what we desire, it will dissolve. The worldly things that become so important to us everyday (here I am thinking about books and writings!) can't come with us.

We are given the creative nature to sub-create in this world. Beautiful paintings, lovely fabrics, thoughtful books, amazing buildings, fast cars, new electronic devices. We were made this way, because God created us in His image, and He obviously likes to create things. So that natural desire to sub-create is infused within us.

It gets dangerous, though, when the desires of our eyes, flesh, and pride come before God. When we lose sight of what is eternal and make our center something other than God. Our focus tends to be on the finite, but there is more ahead...

C.S. Lewis always has something to say that causes my mind to ponder:"Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind."