I was on my way to a deli in Ann Arbor, Michigan with a friend. Not just any deli, mind you. “We choose our products first and foremost on the basis of flavor,” they state. “We sell food that tastes great. We want our food to be full-flavored, delicious and enjoyable to eat.” From what I can see, they succeed. I couldn’t wait.
In the car we got talking about a Facebook post by Michael Haykin, reflecting on a recent Ontario court decision ruling that doctors must give referrals for services they oppose. “This is a total violation of conscience which a Christian doctor must refuse,” he wrote. “Canadian brothers and sisters: it looks the time is coming when we must encourage and engage in civil disobedience for the sake of the Gospel.”
“Here’s the tension,” my friend said. “I love foodie culture. I love the good life. I’m concerned that the day is coming when we’ll be asked to suffer in tangible ways for the sake of the gospel, and I’m concerned that I’ll love the good life so much that I’ll make the wrong choice.”
Hunger for God and Apple Pie
“The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie,” writes John Piper. “It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world … The greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts.”
I live a pretty good life. I have a condo in a community I love and a ministry calling I enjoy. I like good coffee and evenings off.
We live in tension. On one hand, I believe that we’re meant to enjoy God’s good gifts. “Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him,” writes the Preacher (Ecclesiastes 5:18). We’re meant to enjoy what God gives us.
But we’re called to live for a higher purpose than God’s gifts. We’re called to love God more than life itself. “God calls us to both heavenly purpose and earthly pleasure,” writes theologian Michael Wittmer. “These aims often compete.”
It’s not wrong to enjoy a reuben sandwich, sunset, or vacation. It’s wrong to love them more than God.
It’s not wrong to enjoy a reuben sandwich, sunset, or vacation. It’s wrong to love them more than God.
Lord, Increase My Love for You
When we arrived at the deli, we enjoyed it. I spent a little too much money on spices and pasta, which I’ve brought home and started to cook.
But while visiting the deli we also prayed: Lord, please increase our love for you. Please let that love burn so strongly in our hearts that we’re willing to give up all of your gifts willingly and gladly. We pray that we will never face persecution, but if we do, help us to follow the example of the apostles who rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name (Acts 5:41).
Lord, may we enjoy your gifts, but may we love you more.