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"Only children can hear the song of the male house mouse," she writes. "Only children keep their eyes open. The only thing they have got is sense; they have highly developed 'input systems,' admitting all data indiscriminately." If we must become like children to enter the kingdom of heaven, then something tells me that commonplace revelry is part of the package.

I know this for sure: Goodness is prelapsarian. Before things turned bad, they were unqualifiedly good. Pleasure helps us see discontent as aberrant. And discontent cannot help but witness to goodness, even if backhandedly: It reminds us that something's amiss from the way things ought to be.

When a fleeting delight promises a lasting one, we glimpse the goodness of God.

Anything that does that is not ordinary.

Copyright © 2007 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Agnieszka Tennant's other Taste and See columns include:

Dating Jesus | When 'lover of my soul' language goes too far. (December 6, 2006)

To Russia with Fury | Sometimes charity means anger. (October 9, 2006)

What (Not All) Women Want | The finicky femininity of 'Captivating' by John and Stasi Eldredge. (August 6, 2006)

A Velveteen Apologetic | How two creatures dig a rabbit hole in my disbelief. (April 1, 2006)

What Would Jesus Buy? | Saving the world one cashmere sweater at a time. (February 1, 2006)

Hannah Arendt's theory on the banality of evil was based on her interpretation of Nazi behavior.

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March 2007, Vol. 51, No. 3