For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
- 1 Timothy 6:10
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
- Matthew 6:19-21
You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lastingpossessions.
- Hebrews 10:34
“’Sounds like a carrot in front of a donkey’s nose,’ said I.
“’Even that wouldn’t be quite a cheat if the donkey enjoyed the smell of carrots as much as, or more than, the taste. Or suppose the smell raised in the donkey emotions which no actual eating could ever satisfy? Wouldn’t he look back (when he was an old donkey, living in the fourth age) and say, “I’m glad I had that carrot tied in front of my nose. Otherwise I might still have thought eating was the greatest happiness. Now I know there’s something far better-the something that came to me in the smell of the carrot. And I’d rather have known that-even if I’m never to get it-than not to have known it, for even to have wanted it is what makes life worth having.” ‘
” ‘I don’t think a donkey would feel like that at all.’
” ‘No. Neither a four-legged donkey nor a twolegged one. But I have a suspicion that to feel that way is the real mark of a human.’ ”
- C.S. Lewis, Present Concerns: Essays by C.S. Lewis (Talking about Bicycles)
Sehnsucht is German for an intense yearning, longing, or craving. It is more specific in craving than fernweh, which is basically the opposite of homesickness (far away sickness?). In other words, a longing to be out there, but not specifically out “where.” When I wrote about Sehnsucht before, I said there is a lot in the writings of C.S. Lewis where he longs for Joy.
I have been writing this series, haphazardly, because that is one thing C.S. Lewis and I have in common. Our early lives were characterized by a deep longing for Joy. He searched in classic literature while I searched in sitcoms. We both found that Joy in Jesus Christ.
I got this quote from a book of C.S. Lewis quotes. I would love to get a copy of these essays. For no other reason than to figure out why a conversation between two people about mules being guided by a carrot in front of their nose has anything to do with bicycles.
But we are often the two-legged donkeys that the man references. We take the job that might not be the most satisfying because there is a promise of promotions rapidly. We work at a terrible job simply to put food on the table. We are promised promotions that never come. Why? Because we are too good at what we are now doing, and management does not want to lose the hard worker.
But the carrot in front of us remains, figurative or literal, and we keep putting one foot in front of the other. Unless the person was careless about the carrot and a strong breeze put the carrot within reach, or an even stronger carrot ripped the carrot from the knot holding it there, we will keep following that carrot that will forever remain beyond our reach.
And why? We know what First Timothy says. We know that all sorts of evil comes from chasing such carrots, but your wife lost her job or she quit her job to go back to college. One child needs an operation, and another child wants to join the band, with band fees and the need to buy musical instruments. And there is the ever-present whining that the children have conquered all the video games in the house, and they “NEED” a new one, the expensive one that just came out.
So, you chase another carrot that logic should tell you will never be within your reach.
How do we find God?
God performs a lot of miracles for us to see the different path. It is usually a bit different with each person, but forgetting the carrot is part of the process. We must not chase after worldly things, but after the things of God to truly find Joy.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley 
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