Day 5 - The Weight of Glory

Glory has been part of human desires - whether on a small or large scale, glory in human sense comes in many forms: rank, skill, and fame. In the beginning of C.S Lewis' article "The Weight of Glory", he states that most good men today (every 19 out of 20 people during his time period) believed "unselfishness" to be the greatest virtue. In comparison, C.S Lewis states, Christians of old would have said "love".

So what is the problem with this virtue? C.S Lewis states that the virtue of unselfishness "carries with it the suggestion not primarily of securing good things for others, but of going without them ourselves, as if our abstinence and not their happiness was the important point." In other words, the virtues we consider important seem to carry somewhat a negative connotation, so "selfishness" might mean something we have to abstain from. As C.S Lewis observes, this emphasis on abstinence is not a Christian-like virtue of Love. Rather than truly wanting another person's well-being, we are abstaining or denying ourselves from taking up our crosses in order to follow Christ.

This observation reminds me of a scripture found in Matthew 25:14-30, the Parable of the Talents. In this parable, Jesus tells a story of a master and his three servants, who where each entrusted with a different number of talents depending on his skill. The first servant who had received five talents went out and traded with them, and made five talents more. The second servant who had received two talents went out and did the same, making two talents more. However, the last servant, who had received one talent, went out and buried the money. When the master returned, the first two servants were praised, and entered into the joy of the master. The last servant, however, was chastised and cast out into the darkness.

This parable reminds that we Christians must go out to grow and flourish with the "talents" God has already given us. Abstaining from reaching out to other brothers and sister in Christ puts us in the spot of the last servant, who does not contribute to the "divine glory of God". God has implanted in each and every one of us a talent - the choice is up to you to go out and grow and blossom through God's guidance.

God's glory is nothing like what we finite beings perceive of glory. It surrounds us, leads us, envelopes us, and lives in us. As stated in chapter 2 in Plantinga's book, God's creation is a reflection of God's glory. It is neither a "necessity nor an accident". It is simply part of what God's glory is. With this incomprehensible glory of God, it is indeed a burden for us to go out and be a "real ingredient in the divine happiness". But it is not a burden which slows us down; this burden means a golden opportunity for us Christians to experience the unlimited possibilities in the world God created.