(upbeat music) - We're honored to be joined again by author and speaker Paul Tripp on the Ask Pastor John podcast. He is the author of the book Sex and Money. And in the book, generally speaking, you write this, quote, "Life on this side of eternity "really is one big unceasing glory battle," end quote.

Explain that, that whole perspective of life for us. What is glory and what is this cosmic glory battle that we find ourselves in the midst of? - Well, the first thing I wanna say about this is you have to talk about the way we were created. Human beings are hardwired by God for glory, for awe, to have our minds blown, our hearts expanded, to be taken beyond the normal, the mundane, to be absorbed into what is wonderful and beautiful and satisfying.

Now, you see that in human beings. That's why we like the triple overtime NBA game or the seven layer mousse cake or the movie that just keeps us on the edge of our seat. Those are our created sort of glories. Animals are not like that. The penguins don't score one another as they jump off the ice.

You know, 9.5 technical merit but lacked artistic creativity. The rhinoceros doesn't say to the zebra, "Dude, where'd you get that coat? "I mean, it's awesome. "Look at the stripes." You just don't have that, but human beings do that. Now, the glory, that hardwiring, that glory hardwiring was meant to drive us to God, to find our satisfaction in God, in his glory, and our absorption by grace into things that are glorious.

Here's the problem. We tend to replace the glory of the creator with the glory of the creation. I tend to get satisfied with created glory, and I tend to begin to believe that my heart can be satisfied by created glory. Here's the role of created glory. Created glory is one big finger to point me to the glory that will only ever satisfy my heart.

Earth will never satisfy me. Earth will never be my savior. It will never calm my heart. It will never give my heart peace or life or hope or meaning or satisfaction or contentment. And so as long as there's sin inside of me, there will be that war for what kind of glory will rule my heart.

Will my heart be ruled and my life be shaped by an anxious pursuit of created glory, or will my heart find its rest in the glory of God? - So let's take this down to the pavement. How do you make this point concrete? - Well, here's the easiest one.

Food, food's glorious. I mean, I will confess, I am thankful for how much of the glory of God in creation is edible. That's a wonderful thing. But food is not supposed to rule my heart. And it's amazing in Western culture, medical people say that the number one health issue in America is what?

Obesity. Now that means that that glory of edible flora and fauna, fauna that God created means too much to us, rules us too much, satisfies us too much. And so we're actually chewing our way to our death. Food, something as mundane as food is killing us because that glory rules us more than the glory of God.

Now, who can't relate to that? We all have gluttonous patterns in our life because that thing is in a place it was never meant to be. - Thank you, Paul. Paul Tripp, author of the book "Sex and Money," a really helpful book worth checking out. And you can get everything you wanna know about this podcast at our landing page.

Go to desiringgod.org/askpastorjohn. I'm your host, Tony Reinke. We'll be back tomorrow with John Piper, and we'll look at what happens when postmodern minds meet undeniable evil in this world. I'm your host, Tony Reinke. We'll see you tomorrow. (upbeat music) (upbeat music)