Idols and happiness - a quote by C. S. Lewis

Posted April 26th, 2008 by Mike Hubbard

I’m going to read this quote in the message in the morning, but wanted to post it on the blog as well.  As we close the sermon series on worship, I thought it was a very appropriate thought about the futility of pursuing all the other false gods we worship.  The quote is from the book Mere Christianity in the chapter titled, The Shocking Alternative.

“What Satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors (Adam and Eve) was the idea that they could ‘be like gods’ - could set up their own as if they had created themselves - be their own masters - invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God, apart from God… The reason why it can never success is this.  God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine.  A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else.  Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself.  He Himself is the fuel or spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on.  There is no other.  That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happin in our own way without bothering about religion.  God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there.  There is no such thing.  That is the key to history.”
C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.

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