CHRISTIANITY 101: TURKISH DELIGHT
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was a children’s book long before it became a movie. Written by a man named C.S. Lewis, there are some highly significant theological themes hidden between the lines. The story takes place during World War II when four siblings – Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy – are evacuated from London. They are sent to live with Professor Kirke, who lives in a house in the English countryside.
While the four children are exploring the house, Lucy looks into a wardrobe and discovers a doorway that leads to a magical place called Narnia. It’s a land of talking animals and mythical beings that has been ruled by the evil White Witch for one hundred years. Lucy enters the land of Narnia and is quite amazed at what she sees. After considerable effort, she finally convinces her brother Edmund to enter the land of Narnia as well. Lost, freezing, hungry and thirsty, Edmund encounters the White Witch himself. Knowing an ancient legend that four children are destined to rule the land of Narnia, the White Witch knows she must destroy them. Her plan is to use Edmund to lure them into a trap. After giving him something to drink, the White Witch says to Edmund:
“It is dull, Son of Adam, to drink without eating. What would you like best to eat?” To which Edmund replies, “Turkish Delight, please, Your Majesty.” The Queen let another drop fall from her bottle on to the snow, and instantly there appeared a round box, tied with a green silk ribbon, which, when opened, turned out to contain several pounds of the best Turkish Delight. Each piece was sweet and light to the very center, and Edmund had never tasted anything more delicious. He was quite warm now, and very comfortable.
While he was eating the Queen kept asking him questions. At first Edmund tried to remember that it is rude to speak with one’s mouth full, but soon he forgot about that and thought only of trying to shovel down as much Turkish Delight as he could, and the more he ate the more he wanted to eat, and he never asked himself why the Queen should be so inquisitive. She got him to tell her that he had one brother and two sisters, and that one of his sisters had already been to Narnia. She seemed especially interested in the fact that there were four of them, and kept on coming back to it. “You are sure there are just four of you?” she asked. And Edmund, with his mouth full of Turkish Delight, kept on saying, “Yes, I told you that before,” and forgetting to call her “Your Majesty,” but she didn’t seem to mind now.
At last the Turkish Delight was all finished, and Edmund was looking very hard at the empty box, wishing she would ask him if he would like some more. Probably the Queen knew quite well what he was thinking; for she knew, though Edmund did not, that this was enchanted Turkish Delight and that anyone who once tasted it would want more and more of it, and would even – if they were allowed – go on eating it until they killed themselves.
But she did not offer him any more. Instead, she said to him, “Son of Adam, I should so much like to see your brother and your two sisters. Will you bring them to me?” “I’ll try,” said Edmund, still looking at the empty box.
“Because if you did come again – bringing them with you, of course – I’d be able to give you some more Turkish Delight. I can’t do it now; the magic will only work once. In my own house, it would be another matter.” “Why can’t we go to your house now?” said Edmund.
“It is a lovely place, my house,” said the Queen. “I am sure you would like it. There are whole rooms full of Turkish Delight, and what’s more, I have no children of my own. I want a nice boy whom I could bring up as a Prince and who would be King of Narnia when I am gone. While he was Prince he would wear a gold crown and eat Turkish Delight all day long; and you are the cleverest and handsomest young man I’ve ever met. I think I would like to make you the Prince – some day…when you bring the others to visit me.”
“Why not now?” said Edmund. His face had become very red and his mouth and fingers were sticky. He did not look either clever or handsome…whatever the Queen might say.
Turkish Delight is highly enticing, yet it somehow fails to satisfy. The more one has of it, the more one wants. One can never get enough of it because one develops an insatiable craving for it. What do you suppose C.S. Lewis really had in mind when he described this Turkish Delight? What else is highly enticing, yet somehow fails to satisfy? Could C.S. Lewis be referring to sin? Keep that thought in mind as we move on.
A number of weeks ago, we noted how – each and every day – we make decisions that move us closer to a life of virtue, or closer to a life of ruin. Though the past may be written in stone, the future is more like wet cement…pliable, soft, and ready to be shaped by the decisions we make. Our goal is to develop a more godly life narrative. Our goal is to discover what it means to live a life of virtue. Our goal is to seek to discern where our deep happiness may truly be found.
We suggested that our deepest happiness is found in the kingdom of God. We noted that the kingdom of God is not just something we hope to attain in the future. As Jesus clearly stated, the kingdom of God is also a present reality. Thus, the kingdom of God of which we speak is not a place. The kingdom of God of which we speak is an interactive relationship with God…an interactive relationship that brings us peace of heart and mind.
We noted how many of us will not even consider a more godly life narrative – many of us will not even begin to seek out an interactive relationship with God – until we encounter a drought in life…until we come up against something that we cannot control. So what we did was consider a social problem that appears to be beyond human resolution: bullying in the classroom. We postulated that while we may not be able to resolve all the social ills that surround us, God is able to resolve the un-resolvable. What we need to do is recognize that fact, and be open to the movement of God’s Holy Spirit. That, my friends, is where our own transformation begins.
Then we got more specific on how we build an interactive relationship with God. The first thing we aimed at was conquering anger. We contrasted anger with Sabbath rest. Anger is a result of our need to control; Sabbath teaches us to trust in God’s strength. Anger is a result of the narrative that we need to be perfect; Sabbath teaches us that we are forgiven. Anger is a result of our fear that God has lost sight of us; Sabbath ensures us that God is watching over us at all times.
Our goal is to build an interactive relationship with God. Last week we tackled anger. Today, we take on lust. What was it we said about Turkish Delight candy? We said that it was highly enticing, yet it somehow fails to satisfy. Could not the very same thing be said of lust? To build an interactive relationship with God, we must learn to conquer lust. The question now is: How?
In the passage we read from the gospel according to Matthew, Jesus addresses the topic of lust. He says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust had already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Some of you are old enough to remember that this is the sin to which Jimmy Carter once confessed. So let’s take a look at what lust really is.
The Greek word translated “lust” here is epithumia. It literally means desire, longing, or craving. Thus, in this context, perhaps we could say that lust does not refer to healthy sexual attraction. Lust, rather, refers to objectifying another person for one’s own gratification. It fails to see another person as a human being created in the image of God. Perhaps we could go so far as to say that epithumia does not refer to the first look, but to the second. The first look may be simple attraction – appreciating the wonders of God’s good creation – but the second look…is leering. Lust does not value a person; lust only values parts of a person. Are you with me?
Lust is alive and well in our society today. The mantra these days seems to be: Sex sells. Over fourteen thousand sexual references are made by television advertisers every year. The average person will view over one hundred thousand of those references in his or her lifetime. If a group of men drink the right beer, beautiful women will be magically drawn to average-looking guys. If a woman wears the right perfume, the man of her dreams will mysteriously appear on the back of a white horse in a foggy field. In an age of tolerance, we have become desensitized.
What difference does it make? I’ll tell you what difference it makes. It has cheapened our relationships, sullied our souls, and produced some rather dire consequences. For example, conventional wisdom these days dictates that a man and a woman are in bed together by the third date. A few years back, there was a woman living in Cleveland who grew up in the First Presbyterian Church in Meadville, Pennsylvania. She was on her third date with this guy and at the end of the evening, he began to pressure her to spend the night at his apartment. When she refused, he said, “What’s the deal? I took you to dinner, I took you dancing…you owe me!” She clung to her values, and she never saw that guy again.
What’s more, I am absolutely convinced that it’s lust that plays a major role in the spiraling divorce rate. The typical couple is in bed together by the third date, and the sex is good. Then they move in together, and the sex is still good. Then they get married, and the sex is still good. Then five or six years down the road – when the thrill wears off a little bit – they discover that they are married to someone whom: a) they don’t really know, and b) they don’t really like! Don’t think for a minute that lust is just a little thing and that it doesn’t really matter.
So how do we get beyond it? How do we conquer the sin of lust? First of all, I think we have to really want to change. More often than not, the people who struggle with lust don’t really want to change. They merely dislike the consequences of failure…the guilt, the shame, the embarrassment. Thus, they end up trying to resolve the issue by sheer will power, and find themselves failing, time and again. Promises, pledges and resolutions are no match for a heart that secretly cherishes sin. Thus, first of all, we have to really want to change.
Second, I think that in order to conquer one passion, we have to replace it with a better passion. In the words of Harry Emerson Fosdick, “Only by a stronger passion can evil passions be expelled, and a soul unoccupied by positive devotion is sure to be occupied by spiritual demons.” The safety of Jesus Christ himself in the presence of temptation lay in his complete and positive devotion to his mission: there was no unoccupied room in his soul where evil could find a home. He knew what one biblical commentator called, “The expulsive power of a new affection.”
For example, when Ulysses passed the Isle of Sirens in ancient Greek lore, he had himself tied to the mast and had his ears stopped up with wax that he might not hear the sirens singing. This is a perfect picture of how many attempt to conquer the allure of sin. They do it by sheer will power. When Orpheus passed the Isle of Sirens, he sat on the deck of the ship – indifferent – for you see, he too was a musician. The fact of the matter was: he could make melody so much more beautiful than the Sirens that their alluring songs to him were mere discords. That, my friends, is the expulsive power of a new affection. You see, lust is really all about hunger. If our genuine hunger – if our new affection – is the kingdom of God, then lust will simply lose its grip on us. Thus, I believe the solution to our problem…is prayer. Amen.
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