“‘The New Testament has a lot to say about self-denial, but not about self-denial as an end in itself.  We are told to deny ourselves and to take up our cross in order to follow Christ – and nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do so contains an appeal to desire.  Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.  We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy has been offered to us.  We are far too easily pleased…’ (C.S. Lewis).

We must realize, once and for all, that fulfilling our desires and seeking rewards are not anti-Christian.  What is anti-Christian is the self-centeredness that’s unconcerned about God and our neighbor, and the preoccupation with the immediate fulfilling of desires that distracts us from finding our ultimate fulfillment in Christ.  The person who gives life, money, and possessions to receive rewards from God – the greatest of which is to hear the resounding ‘Well done’ – is one whose deepest thirsts will be eternally quenched by the Maker and Fulfiller of all desire.”

Alcorn, Money, Possessions and Eternity, pg. 136