PROVERBS 21:17a – Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man . . .

THEME OF THE DAY. THE AGE OF PLEASURE. Today’s nugget is not a “downer” so please bear with me as it unfolds. It doesn’t sound “warm and fuzzy”, and perhaps it doesn’t feel overly encouraging, but again, please bear with me. It’s like taking medicine that doesn’t taste good, but is good for us. Really. It is. I also think the topic is one we need to ponder long because it may very well be an area of struggle for us. It isn’t a struggle for the world. It is an obsession in the world; even a stronghold of bondage that is a tool of the devil. And because it is so prevalent in the world, and because Christians and the church are easily influenced by the world, we need to take a hard, soul-searching look at the topic. Before we do, here is a disclaimer. We are not trying to be kill-joys when it comes to pleasure and enjoyment in the world. Not at all. God has told us that He “richly provides us with everything to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17b). But here is the danger. We are sinners. We are prone to excesses. We easily abuse, even make idols things God has given us in this life to enjoy. In order to prevent this in the area of pleasure, entertainment, recreation, hobbies, and social activities, we need to do two things. First, identify the signs of the time in our culture. Then, evaluate ourselves to see if the signs of the times are leading to compromises and conformity to the times in which we live.

We start out with the signs of the times. Here is how the Apostle Paul describes them, “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people” (2 Timothy 3:1-5). Go back and identify three signs of the culture in which we live. Do so by looking at the word “lovers” and see what follows. We will find “lovers of self”, “lovers of pleasure”, and “lovers of God.” The first two are what defines our world. The last one is what is missing. Take time and ponder them. Do they accurately paint a self-portrait of us?

Now we move into the uncomfortable portion of today’s nugget. We might even call this “heart surgery” or “heart diagnosis.” Let’s ask two penetrating questions along the lines of being a lover of self and a lover of pleasure.

If given two choices in the course of our week which would or do we choose – attend a prayer meeting with other believers, be in the Word with other believers, and serve in ministry with other believers or stay at home doing things of a fleshly or earthly nature geared around personal ease and comfort and providing no spiritual value to our souls? Should we be choosing the latter, then we are violating the Biblical principle of self-denial and identifying ourselves as “lovers of self.”

If given two choices on Sunday, the Lord’s Day, of dedicating His Day to His purposes and His people in worship, fellowship and instruction or attending a worldly activity, event, hobby, social gathering, or some other outlet of self-serving pleasure which would we choose? Should it be the latter, we are placing ourselves absent from one of the primary means of spiritual growth – the Lord’s Day gathering – and identifying ourselves as “lovers of pleasure.”

The world is constantly pressuring Christians and the church to conform into its images – lovers of self and lovers of pleasure. We must deny ourselves in a world of “selfies” and discipline ourselves to be more lovers of God than of self and pleasure. And we can . . . His grace is sufficient. .

PRAYER: “Father, forgive me when I invest too much time in earthly pleasure at the expense of eternal priorities.”

QUOTE: “Be a lover of pleasure more than a lover of God and we will be more like the unbeliever than a believer.”