• Home
  • About This Blog
  • Contact Me
  • Subscribe
  • Comment Policy

Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
Home Christian Life On the pursuit of pleasure

On the pursuit of pleasure

Posted on July 3, 2018 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment


MeatloafI am not the first to make the point that idolatry can entail taking good things and making them into ultimate things. Or to put it another way, we should not confuse means and ends.

I was thinking about this with reference to physical pleasures. Too often, the response of the church to the danger of making pleasure a god in our life is to put rules in place to deny those pleasures. Churches have spoken out against many things to keep us from the danger of having pleasure as our goal in life.

One danger of a focus on restricting pleasure is that by doing so, we may feed our inner Pharisee and cause us to look down on others who are less disciplined.

The problem is that pleasures are so . . . pleasurable. We like the comforts in life and they make life interesting. While I assume that you could survive with only eating meatloaf, green beans and potatoes every day, limiting the diet to these would surely reduce anticipation of delight from the meal.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 6 that God delights to give us what we need, pleasures included. But a warning is needed: there are illegitimate pleasures that are forbidden to us by Scripture. For example, while consuming alcohol is not condemned in Scripture, drunkenness is. There are other “pleasures” that we are to avoid. The good news is that the legitimate pleasures are more numerous than those that are forbidden.

How then can we keep the pleasures from being a cause for idolatry?

The answer lies in how we enjoy the pleasure. I can enjoy the legitimate pleasures without idolatry when I enjoy them as an act of worship. When I accept the pleasures as a gift from God and enjoy them as such then I am less prone to idolatry.

I like to eat. I like to eat good food and I very much enjoy having a variety in my diet. Using food as an example, It would be possible to arrange my whole existence around food. I could spend a majority of my time planning my eating and focus my existence on finding new and interesting foods.

Or, I can accept any opportunity to eat as a gift from God. I can enjoy the really great food when it is available or I can enjoy more pedestrian fare if that is what is in front of me.

The difference is not in what is eaten but the motivation for eating it. The fundamental question is this: “Who gets the glory?” Am I so focused on the food that I do not give glory to the God who made the food possible?

The same question applies to any legitimate pleasure we could pursue.


Filed Under: Christian Life

About Mark McIntyre

A follower of Jesus Christ who shares observations about how Scripture should impact the church and the world. Mark is the original author and editor of Attempts at Honesty.

Follow Attempts at Honesty

Honesty in your Inbox

Halley's Bible Hand Book

By the book – A Quote from Henry Halley

Israel had a Book. It was only a fraction of what we now have in God’s Word, but oh how important! God’s solemn warning to Joshua, standing at the threshold of a gigantic task, was to be very careful to keep close to the words of that Book. Joshua listened and obeyed, and God honored […]

Amazing Grace

Recently, I received an email with a link to a Youtube video. What made this email unique was that it was from the singer herself and that she is from the town where John Newton preached and where he wrote the hymn Amazing Grace. This video features Hannah Layton Turner singing Amazing Grace along with […]

Don’t quit your day job

The point of this ramble is that God redeems all of life, even the aspects of life that seem to have no eternal value. To be faithful in a difficult or boring job is as much an act of grace as teaching a Bible study.

Power and authority in the church – Choose who is in control

Herod was giving an opportunity to choose to submit to the ultimate authority. Similarly, church leaders must choose who is in control. Some choose well and others badly. The choice has serious consequences.

Putting on our “game face”

One of the things that I struggle with in church is the pressure that we feel to put on the churchy version of game face when we come on Sunday. If you’ve been in the church at all you probably know what I’m talking about. Game face is a look intended to convey that everything […]

Post Series

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
February 2023
SMTWTFS
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728 
« Jan    

Categories

Archives

Blogger Grid
Follow me on Blogarama

Copyright © 2023 · Focus Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in