The Tyranny of Novelty

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I think that without [C. S. Lewis'] influence

I would not have lived my life with as much joy or usefulness as I have.

There are reasons for this.

He has made me wary of chronological snobbery.

That is, he showed me that newness is no virtue

and oldness is no vice.

Truth and beauty and goodness are not determined by when they exist.

Nothing is inferior for being old,

and nothing is valuable for being modern.

This has freed me from the tyranny of novelty

and opened for me the wisdom of the ages.

To this day I get most of my soul-food from centuries ago.

I thank God

for Lewis' compelling demonstration of the obvious.

~ John Piper, Don't Waste Your Life

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