Nothing Is Sinful Because It Is Pleasurable

It is not that uncommon to come across non-Christians who think that the Christian faith is, to some extent, against people experiencing pleasure. And this thinking is one reason why some are put off our faith.

Reasons why some people think that the Christian faith is negative towards pleasure

There are two reasons why some non-believers connect our faith with a negative attitude towards pleasure.

First, there are some Christians who, to a certain extent, really do view pleasure negatively. So when non-Christians encounter Christians who think this, they sometimes assume that this attitude towards pleasure is a standard part of the Christian faith.

Second and more importantly, some non-believers see Christians opposing various things that give pleasure, such as getting drunk or having sex outside marriage, and they often just assume that the reason we oppose these things is because they are pleasurable.

The result of these two factors is that there is an impression among some non-Christians that the Christian faith is, to some extent, against people experiencing pleasure.

God is positive about pleasure

It can hardly be overstated how wrong it is to think that the Christian faith is against pleasure.

To begin with, we need to understand that God Himself experiences pleasure. The Bible is full of references to God taking pleasure in people and things.

For example, in Psalm 149:4 we read:

‘For the LORD takes pleasure in his people . . .’ (ESV)

What is more, even before God made the universe, the love relationships in the Trinity between Father, Son and Holy Spirit undoubtedly caused God a tremendously deep source of pleasure.

Secondly, a major part of God’s purpose in creating humans was so that we could experience pleasure – first and foremost pleasure in God Himself, but also pleasure in human relationships of various kinds and in other aspects of creation.

To put it bluntly, God is thoroughly in favour of people experiencing pleasure.

Things are not sinful because they are pleasurable

If something is against God’s will, it is important to understand that there is always some reason other than it being pleasurable that makes it sinful.

So, for example, getting drunk is not sinful because it is pleasurable, but because it causes people to lose self-control. Losing self-control can lead people to do unwise things, and it also fits poorly with the dignity of human beings as creatures made in the image of God.

Similarly, sex outside marriage is not sinful because it is pleasurable, but because God designed sex to cement the marriage relationship between husband and wife that mirrors the relationship between Christ and His church.

It is crucial to understand that God is not a kill-joy. He isn’t against pleasure. There is no activity that is sinful because it is pleasurable. The world as God made it is simply not like that.

A special case

Despite what I have just said, there is one kind of situation where pleasure is a problem in and of itself. This is when people treat pleasure as an idol and seek it more than they should.

Sometimes a person can become obsessed with seeking after pleasure, and in that sort of situation there is a sense in which pleasure itself is a problem for that person.

However, the point still stands that in terms of what any particular activity involves, it is not the pleasure derived from an action that makes it sinful. It is always something else.

Living in a time of war

If Adam and Eve had not fallen into sin, and if there had been a human race that had never sinned, everyone would have experienced nothing but great pleasure all the time.

Similarly, after we die or Jesus returns to earth, our lives will be nothing but pleasure, and this is what God will want.

However, the reality is that the human race has fallen into sin, those of us now on earth have not yet died, and Jesus has not yet returned. This means that it isn’t possible right now for us to experience pleasure all the time. Although pleasure should be a part of our lives, suffering is also unavoidable to a certain extent. We are living in a kind of wartime, when normal peacetime activities can’t always be enjoyed.

In 2 Timothy 2:3-4 Paul tells Timothy:

‘Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.’ (ESV)

There should be no doubt that these words are meant to apply to all Christians. We are all soldiers of Christ Jesus, and soldiers can expect to experience hardships of various kinds. A time will come when suffering and hardship become things of the past, but that time is not yet.

Correcting wrong ideas

When we come across non-Christians who have wrong ideas about the attitude of the Christian faith towards pleasure, it is worth trying to correct those ideas if we have an opportunity.

As I have already noted, some non-believers are put off our faith because they think that it views pleasure negatively to a certain extent. When people decide not to follow Jesus and reject the salvation that is in Him because of wrong thinking like this, it is a real tragedy.

If we can help them to view things correctly on the real Christian attitude towards pleasure, for some it may make the difference between the decision to accept Jesus as Saviour and Lord and the decision not to.

It is also worth trying to correct the thinking of Christians who have a poor understanding in this area. Some believers view God as more severe than He really is, and they seem to imagine that to some extent He is against us experiencing pleasure. If we can help them see reality better on this topic, it could only aid them in their relationships with the Lord.

 

See also:

Charismatic Churches and Their Attitude to Hardship

Is There Any Place for Entertainment in Church Services?

How and Why Should Christians Rejoice?

What Is the Christian Faith Really All About?

Missing Out On Things In Life Doesn’t Matter At All

The Bible clearly teaches that there are some good and enjoyable things on this earth that will not exist after death.

Even though Scripture promises enormous blessings for God’s people after they die, it is clear too that some God-given and enjoyable things that can be found on this earth of ours will cease to exist.

Enjoyable things on this earth that will not exist after death

There are a number of things that fall into this category.

For example, the Bible teaches that after death there will be no marriage or having children (Matt 22:30; Mark 12:25; Luke 20:35). This means that Christians who never get married or have children here on this earth will never, ever have an opportunity to do these things.

Similarly, the Bible teaches that this earth will come to an end and be replaced by the new earth (Isa 65:17; 66:22; 2 Pet 3:10-13; Rev 21:1), and it seems very unlikely that the geography of both earths will be exactly the same. If this is right, it means that Christians who never visit amazing places on our earth will never, ever have an opportunity to visit them.

Sadness about missing out on these things

It seems clear to me that some Christians, who don’t experience some of these things here on our earth, have a certain sadness about the prospect of forever missing out on them. They understand that the blessings for God’s people after death will be enormous, but they feel disappointed to a certain extent that they will permanently miss out on things that exist here and now.

This especially concerns getting married and having children. These are obviously huge and life-changing events for those who experience them, and for some believers the thought of forever missing out on these things is a painful one.

This thinking is completely wrong

Although at first sight it might seem reasonable for Christians to think in this way, it actually doesn’t make sense.

I am not saying that it doesn’t make sense for Christians to feel pain about missing out on these things here and now. For example, a Christian might suffer being single and long to be married here and now. Or someone without children might suffer and long to be a parent here and now. Or someone who is unable to travel far from where they live might be disappointed that they are unable to do this here and now.

Suffering in these ways does make sense. I am not suggesting that Christians who suffer these things shouldn’t be suffering. Missing out on good things that God created does hurt and it makes sense that it hurts.

My point is that being upset at the thought of forever missing out on things doesn’t make sense. And the reason for this is simple. When we are with Jesus after death, from that time forward we won’t care at all that we missed out on anything while we were here on this earth, and from the perspective of the present almost all of our future will be with Jesus after death.

The vastness of our blessings after death

It is impossible to overstate the size of the blessings that will come our way after we die or the Lord returns to earth.

In 2 Corinthians 4:17 the apostle Paul says:

‘For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory.’

In this verse Paul is contrasting the sufferings of Christians here on our earth with the blessings we will experience after death.

It is actually not straightforward to translate the original Greek of the verse into English. Paul seems to get a bit carried away with the language he uses, and he literally describes the size of the eternal weight of glory we will experience as ‘according to excess towards excess’. This could be translated as ‘absolutely incomparable’ or ‘utterly enormous’ or ‘unspeakably gigantic’ or ‘exceedingly vast’ or something along these lines.

It really is difficult to find words to describe how wonderful and joyful our lives will be when we get into the immediate and visible presence of the Lord Jesus after death or His return to earth. And it is not possible that in that state we will have any feelings of sadness about what we missed out on while we were on this present earth. And that state will last forever!

It doesn’t matter what we miss out on

So for millions and millions of years on into an infinite eternity we won’t care at all about what we missed out on here on this earth. Therefore, because our future here on this earth is as nothing in length to our future on the future earth with Jesus, and because our future on the future earth will be nothing but happiness, it makes no sense to feel sadness now at the prospect of forever missing out on enjoyable things that exist on our earth.

It would only make sense to feel sadness now about this, if after death the blessings we will experience will not be all that great. But Scripture simply won’t allow us to think that this will be the case. The blessings after death will be vastly greater than the most enjoyable thing here on this earth.

Or perhaps it might make sense to feel sadness now about this, if after death from time to time we were going to feel some regret about what we had missed out on while we were on this earth. But, again, Scripture won’t allow us to think that this regret will exist.

As Christians we need to be people who set our hopes fully on the unspeakably colossal blessings that God has promised us after we die or Jesus returns to the earth. Compared to that, it just doesn’t matter what we miss out on while we are on this earth.

So, although it may hurt us in the here and now to miss out on some of these things, a time will come when we couldn’t care less what enjoyable things we missed out on while we were on this earth. And because, from the perspective of the present, almost all of our future will be in that glorious state, it makes no sense to feel any sadness at the prospect of forever missing out on things that can be found on this temporary earth of ours.

 

See also:

Becoming a Christian Is the Ultimate Bargain

What Counts as True Success in Life?

How and Why Should Christians Rejoice?

Some Things for Christians to Do When They Are Hanging on by Their Fingernails