The Prospect of Pleasure

God is a God of enjoyment.  He created the world and took pleasure in it, defining it all as good (Gen. 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31).  The Lord delights and enjoys and, as we were created in His image, we do too.  The pertinent question is what does God then say about pleasure?  Surprisingly, the Bible has much to say about indulgence, both positive and negative.  The purpose of this discourse is to address the biblical understanding of pleasure.

Many Christians have a distorted understanding of pleasure that is neither scripturally founded nor healthy.  If we do not understand our pleasure and what constitutes as healthy pleasure, then we open ourselves to spiritual attack and the potential for sinfulness.  Instead, understanding pleasure is essential to living the full life that God has gifted us with and called us to.

There is such a variety of pleasures to choose from that one could be spend the whole of a lifetime simply studying pleasure.  Pleasure in and of itself is not fulfilling apart from the the Fulfiller, which is the Lord.  Unfortunately, the endless search to fill pleasures seems to be the modus operani for much of the world.  As a result, the world is inundated with hurt and unfulfilled people, longing for the pleasure that lasts.  Think of Solomon, the ultimate measure of wealth and worldly pleasure could not find contentment in the world (See Ecclesiastes 1-12--that's right, the whole book).

A modern concept that is biblically supported in this regard is the law of diminishing returns, or as Solomon writes: "If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit it (Pro. 25:15)." The word that covers this is temperance, also referred to as self-restraint.  This is one of the keys to pleasure, that our pleasures refresh us but if not kept in check, they may become a burden or stumbling block for ourselves or anyone else.

Think of David, in the midst of a battle, calling out for the simple refreshment (pleasure) of a drink from his well at Bethlehem.  Three of his mighty men thus risk their lives to bring him such a pleasure only to see David to refuse the pleasure for its cost (2 Sam. 23:15-17).  We should take this mind among us, that pleasure should be weighed for its merits as much for its true cost.

Pleasure is a distinct gift from God.  We should enjoy this life.  However, enjoyment and pleasure should never come in the way of our ultimate mission, which is to love the Lord and to preach His gospel to the world.  If our pleasure(s) are hindering our effectiveness or pulls us from our primary mission, then we need to rethink our priorities and where we are placing our pleasure.

The Lord is the source of life and the giver of pleasure.  We should then seek our pleasure in Him.  He desires for us to delight in Him.  This is an amazing proposition.  Instead of looking to the fleeting whimsy of this world, let us look to the eternal Lord as the source of our enjoyment and pleasure.