Anonymous Asks (404)

“Is God opposed to pleasure?”

The Bible paints a consistent picture of a God who both experiences pleasure and designed his creatures to experience it too. The same is true of delight, if there is any difference between the two concepts. (Personally, I think delight is a little more intense, but I won’t insist on it as an article of faith.) A simple concordance search for either term turns up numerous references to things that give God delight and things that don’t. Likewise, scripture contains many references to things in which humans take pleasure, whether or not we should.

It would be strange indeed to find God comprehensively opposed to something he not only created, but which originates in him.

Pleasure in the Wrong Things

Still, there’s a good reason such questions arise. We live in a fallen world, one in which many pleasurable experiences are not good at all. Not good for us, not good for others, not good for our world. Human nature is warped by sin, and many of us have no idea what’s good for us and what isn’t. Paul writes about the condemnation of people who “did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness”. To Timothy, he writes about women who live for pleasure. He describes such a person as “dead even while she lives”. James writes to pleasure seekers and says, “You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.” Peter warns about men who “count it pleasure to revel in the daytime”.

So then, God is certainly opposed to us seeking out sinful experiences regardless of how much temporary pleasure they bring to us.

Pleasure for its Own Sake

We might say pleasure itself is not intrinsically good or bad. It’s a reaction to an experience, a by-product of something else, not an end in itself. If the experience that brings pleasure is morally good, then we might say that being pleased with it is both right and appropriate. Pursuing pleasure for its own sake is an exercise in futility. It always leads to disappointment. When human beings are operating rightly, pleasure happens to us without effort or expectation. We don’t have to chase it.

One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is to teach us to take pleasure in the right things. When we are walking with the Lord and doing what pleases him, we will find genuine enjoyment in some very strange places. Paul writes of taking pleasure in “weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities”. Why? Because when the believer is afflicted with such things, the power of Christ is at work in him in a way that cannot happen when life is copacetic. The apostle found that his need brought him closer to the Lord and to experiences that lead to eternal reward rather than mere sensation, which is temporary and passing away. If that’s the case, Paul says, then bring on the difficulties.

Pleasure as a Gift of God

That’s probably not an attitude that appeals to everyone. What we can say is that it takes a very strong person to think that way. My father led a life that by all secular standards was quite austere. He did not have hobbies or sports teams, listen to secular music, go to shows or parties, take expensive vacations or drink alcohol beyond a sip or two at weddings. I cannot think of a single pastime he engaged in for its own sake. For all that, he was full of gratitude to God and delighted to watch him work in the lives of others. In his last days on earth, the prospect of seeing the Lord filled him with peace and joy. Paradoxically, he found what everyone in the world is looking for by not looking for it, but by seeking the will of God instead.

So no, God is not opposed to pleasure. Scripture says he “richly provides us with everything to enjoy”. Pleasure is a gift of God. Those who earnestly seek him find pleasure in abundance, while those who earnestly seek pleasure will invariably find it slips through their fingers.