Many Christians almost instinctively recoil from the word, “pleasure,” as though anything enjoyable or fun must be sinful, too. Then, too, many equate pleasure with drunkenness or immorality forgetting the pure pleasure that can be found in a well prepared meal, an exquisite cup of coffee, a tender touch, or a well-told story. Gary Thomas has written a book that addresses our pleasure phobia, titled, Pure Pleasure. (Zondervan, 2009) He challenges disciples of Christ to rethink their prejudice against pleasure. The foundation of his argument is not new. He reminds us that trying to scare ourselves holy is impossible! Only a deep love for God, a soul-satisfying passion for Who He is and what He calls us to, can keep us from wandering into the pits of decadence. He writes, “We can build lives of true, lasting pleasure and so fortify ourselves against evil because evil has lost much of its allure — or we can try, with an iron will, to “scare” ourselves away from evil while still, deep in our hearts, truly longing for it.”
The allure of asceticism (rejection of pleasure) is that it feeds our pride! When we fast, there is a strong temptation to feel vastly superior to those who are unable to resist the need for food and drink. When we manage to corral our sexual urges and keep them hidden behind our foreheads, we can express our spiritual contempt for those who embrace another lover. A thousand years ago, the idea that rejecting all creature comforts and pleasure was the path to spiritual maturity took hold. Monks rejected marriage, wore rough clothing, ate only simple fare, did not bathe, and slept in cold cells in pursuit of spiritual depth. Mostly, they created misery for themselves with little to gain in mastery of sin! An idea persists that the pathway to spirituality lies through agonizingly long prayer meetings and endless hours of perusal of holy Scripture. Really?
Thomas pokes at our religious pretensions by reminding us that “prohibitionist Christians squeeze all the joy out of life — an obscene effect, because when you squeeze the joy out of life, you also end up squeezing part of God out of life. You close yourself off to a glorious, beautiful, and all-inviting side of Him.”
Thomas suggests that God must love pleasure. He equipped us with rich senses, created a world full of color, texture, and smells; made us with sensory receptors that cause us to enjoy the touch of another. Why would He make us with the ability to enjoy the world in which He placed us and then forbid us from taking pleasure from it? Jesus assures us that God, like a good father, delights in giving us good gifts! Indeed, the Savior was mocked for His ability to enjoy a good meal and hearty laughter by the Pharisees who thought such things beneath their spirituality. Jesus explained: "A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. " (John 10:10, The Message)
Thomas recognizes the danger in lauding the benefit of pleasure. He writes, “As Christians, we have an awful tendency to “overcorrect.” We see our error (“Oh, so maybe I can legitimately accept and even cultivate pleasure. I see how I’ve endangered myself and dishonored God with a prohibitionist mind-set”) and then rush to the other extreme to get away from that error, only to create a new one (“I want to ‘eat, drink, and be merry’ for the rest of my life!”). Writing or reading a book like this presents exactly that grave danger.
Today’s church, frankly, has not earned a reputation for intellectual sophistication. Instead of holding things in a healthy balance, we tend to bounce back and forth between dangerous extremes.” Ain’t that the truth!? And yet, we cannot shrink from telling the truth just because some foolishly abuse the freedom found in it.
We enjoy pleasure, but we don’t worship it.
We take pleasure from the places where God creates opportunities for it, but we know that there are times when His call will trump our desire and we will forego pleasure to do His will.
We rejoice in the things He provides even as we hope for Eternity where we know "You will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." (Psalm 16:11, NIV)
Here’s a passage for your thoughts today. May He fill you up with His joy as you remember the richness of His mercy shown us in the coming of Jesus, the Savior.
"Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song.
Sing his praises in the assembly of the faithful.
O Israel, rejoice in your Maker.
O people of Jerusalem, exult in your King.
Praise his name with dancing, accompanied by tambourine and harp.
For the Lord delights in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.
Let the faithful rejoice that he honors them.
Let them sing for joy as they lie on their beds." (Psalm 149:1-5, NLT)
No comments:
Post a Comment