“Give me a lover and he feels what I am saying: give me one who yearns, give me one who hungers…give me one like this, and he knows what I am saying. But if I speak to one who is cold, he does not know what I am saying.”

Augustine, In Joannis Evangelium, Treatise 36.4.

“Don’t knock it till you try it.” My parents didn’t want us to approach things (especially new foods) with a closed mind. We were global folks (progeny of missionaries), and we would learn to appreciate the foods of the world.

This quote from Augustine refers to inner disposition. Your attitude toward a thing really matters in your ability to understand something, it matters even more if you’d like to grow into a genuine appreciation.

We don’t want you to like that which is false, bad, or ugly. We want you to love the true, good, and beautiful. Knowing the difference between these categories is a huge part of our maturation process. Unfortunately we’re spring loaded to like things we shouldn’t, and dislike things we should. Thankfully, we’re not alone. The Lord has been kind to reveal what we ought to love. He’s given us parents, teachers, pastors, writers, sages, artists, craftsmen, healers, counselors, chefs, service providers–a vast fellowship of lovers who can mentor us to love truth, goodness and beauty.