A Discerning Hunger

In his novella, Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad describes the depravity of hunger:

"No fear can stand up to hunger, no patience can wear it out, disgust simply does not exist where hunger is; and as to superstition, beliefs, and what you may call principles, they are less than chaff in a breeze."

I have not experienced the kind of hunger Conrad describes, but this quote made me think about some of the similarities between physical and spiritual hunger. Physical hunger reminds me that my body needs things it cannot produce on its own, namely food. However, we experience hunger not only so that we eat food, but for the larger purpose of sustaining life. Likewise, spiritual hunger reminds me that I am not self-sustaining and that my desires are meant to lead me beyond mere satisfaction to life and righteousness. I could dig for my meals in a dumpster and walk away feeling full, but I probably wouldn't live very long if I made that my habit. Similarly, I could fill the desires of my soul with things that produce a sense of satisfaction, but ultimately lead to death.

Paul told the Corinthians, " 'Everything is permissible'—but not everything is beneficial...not everything is constructive" (1 Corinthians 10:23). Our English word "holy" is derived from the root, hal, meaning whole, and from which we also get the words hale and healthy. In order to be holy (whole, healthy), we have to feast on the food of God's word, revealed in the person of Jesus and imparted through the Holy Spirit. Plenty of things will satisfy, and they are not all bad, but we must ask God for a discerning hunger, a craving for his provision that will not be satisfied with any fullness obtained apart from righteousness.

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus encourages us to pray confidently for these things :

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." Matthew 5:6

Let's ask God to develop in us a hearty appetite for the Bread of Life, a decided preference for the fare of Heaven, a daily indulgence in fresh mercies.