144th Meditation
“Earthly joys are fleeting. They do not last if they are not connected with me” (Inner Word).
When earthly joys are sought for their own sake, how quickly even those that are legitimate from the perspective of Christian morality pass away. They are fleeting moments, and though sometimes intoxicating and exciting, they do not last, but leave the soul empty after a while. If they are sought again and again, the same story is repeated and the deepest dimension of the human soul remains unsatisfied and without inner peace.
The situation is different when earthly joys are received with gratitude, as coming from the hand of our Father. Then we discover in them the small details of His love, which very delicately abase themselves to the reality of our human nature.
“Wine gladdens the heart,” says the psalm (104:15). If enjoyed in moderation and with gratitude to God, it becomes an earthly joy that enriches our life. Even if its effect fades, joy and gratitude to God remain in the heart. Our Father wants us to enjoy true joys. He wants to intoxicate us with the wine of His love, enrapture us with His presence, instruct us with His wisdom and sustain us with His unceasing goodness.
When we embrace the deeper joys that God has arranged for us, our hunger for earthly pleasures will diminish. These will cease to be the primary thing we covet in our lives, and will become “additions” that our Heavenly Father tenderly bestows upon us and that we gladly receive from His hand.
Since our Father loves us so immeasurably, He watches over us so that we do not become entangled in or attached to perishable goods, so that these do not block us from true joys or impede our spiritual growth.
St. Paul left us a very wise maxim: “For me everything is permissible; maybe, but not everything does good. True, for me everything is permissible, but I am determined not to be dominated by anything” (1 Cor 6:12). Christian prudence will try to be governed by this criterion.