Anna M

“Chocolate and wine and fun weekend are delightful gifts indeed, and God is glorified when we partake with joy and gratitude. But viewing these blessings as necessities is self-indulgent. If we demand them as rights, they will enslave us, evaporating the delight and glory they were meant to convey. No one actually needs a spa day or wine or chocolate or even a vacation.”
― Lydia Brownback, Flourish: How the Love of Christ Frees Us from Self-Focus

“For this is one of the miracles of love; it gives—to both, but perhaps especially to the woman—a power of seeing through its own enchantments and yet not being disenchanted.”
― C.S. Lewis, C.S. Lewis Theology Collection: An 11-Book Anthology

“Self-indulging is how we worship the idol of comfort, and orienting our lives on whatever promises to provide it in the fastest, easiest, most enjoyable way is how we bow down. As with any kind of idol, the appeal to immediate gratification is why self-indulgence snares us.”
― Lydia Brownback, Flourish: How the Love of Christ Frees Us from Self-Focus

“All forms of sinful self-indulgence spring from an ungrateful heart. If we live to gratify ourselves with comfort or pleasure of whatever kind, it's because we believe that God is not enough for us. In some hidden recess of our heart, we judge him insufficient when he fails to meet our personal expectations of what we want and think we deserve.”
― Lydia Brownback, Flourish: How the Love of Christ Frees Us from Self-Focus