Edition 32-Wednesday’s Word

February 17, 2010 | My Jottings

“We try to get [joy] through entertainment. We pay someone to make jokes, tell stories, perform dramatic actions, sing songs. We buy the vitality of another’s imagination to divert and enliven our own poor lives. The enormous entertainment industry in America is a sign of the depletion of joy in our culture. Society is a bored, gluttonous king employing a court jester to divert it after an overindulgent meal. But that kind of joy never penetrates our lives, never changes our basic constitution. The effects are extremely temporary – a few minutes, a few hours, a few days at most. When we run out of money, the joy trickles away.”

Eugene Peterson

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Jesus Christ

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *