Our Fallen Imagination

I was reading yet another of Spurgeon's sermons when I ran across this golden nugget. While making a case for the total depravity of man Spurgeon analyzed different aspects of human nature and demonstrated the ways in which the fall is manifest in each. I was particularly blown away by his treatment of the imagination.

"Oh! how can the imagination revel, when the body is in an ill condition? Only give man something that will well nigh intoxicate him; drug him with opium; and how his imagination will dance with joy! like a bird uncaged, how it will mount with more than eagles' wings! He sees things he had not dreamed of even in the shades of night. Why did not his imagination work when his body was in a normal state- when it was healthy? Simply because it is depraved; and until he entered a foul element-- until the body had begun to quiver with a kind of intoxication- the fancy would not hold its carnival. We have some splendid specimens of what men could write, when they have been under the accursed influence of ardent spirits. It is because the mind is so depraved that it loves something that puts the body into an abnormal condition; and here we have a proof that the imagination itself has gone astray."

What was so powerful about this quote was its truth. Just the other night at work I had a discussion with a coworker who explained to me that the moment when a band quits using drugs is the exact moment at which the same band begins to suck. His example was Aerosmith who he swears have produced nothing good since 86 when they stopped using drugs.

There are many examples of artists/musicians who have unlocked enormous potential through the use of mind altering substances. However, the sad reality is that the same substances which seem to enhance one's creative energies are the substances which generally shorten the life span of those who use, as well as further their separation from God. Many who struggle with addiction do not hesitate to affirm that their using offends God.

When I mentioned this to Whitney she expressed her own frustration at not being able to imagine what heaven would be like. She is not alone. We all have fallen imaginations and our inability to use them to their full creative potential is frustrating. I would like to suggest that if our imaginations were not corrupted by the fall (our sinful nature) we all would be able to use the powers of our imagination without being dependent upon the use of mind altering substances.

So many incredible and gifted people have destroyed their lives seeking to tap into their creative potential. It is tragic.