Friday Foto #41

Isn’t it interesting the things you see in another person’s home? I was a guest in a home recently, and sitting on a table on a porch, is this Pleasure Chest. At first I thought it was cool looking, because I like old beat up stuff like this, but then I thought more about it and the whole idea of wondering in a literal sense, what would be in there to really represent the pleasures that this person wants and likes to experience. It could be liquid pleasures, which given the container is most likely what it was for. But then I started to think about what I have in mine, because I certainly have a “pleasure” chest as well.

Now mine isn’t for beverages—but if so, would technically have to be called a milkshake maker or root beer barrel. My pleasure chest is quite large, at least in my mind, because there are many things in life that I take great pleasure in. Playing guitar, riding my bike, traveling, cars, food, and sometimes—doing NOTHING. All in all, my pleasure chest has a lot to do with just taking care of me and my wants/desires.

Now notice on my list that there is not much related to the Kingdom. I’m not saying that I cannot make a connection with any of these things and God, like being grateful for His gifting me to be able to play guitar and for the love of food which He provides. I can make a connection to any of them in that way, but that’s not what I’m talking about here. I am merely saying that these things are all about pleasures, and somedays, it seems that is my only concern in life—taking care of me with my pleasures, and fulfill my soul’s need for nourishment. Not the liquid kind.

Funny though with all the stuff in my pleasure chest I have to work with, I often find myself thirsting for more in life. I just get too dependent on the stuff, and not on the One who created the stuff. If I can only remember more often, that the greatest pleasure in life does not come from things in my pleasure chest, but from God and His Word, and being in relationship with him.

So what is in your “pleasure chest”?