Pursuit of Pleasure

I have recently learned how (to at least) establish or acknowledge guidelines in learning how to truly enjoy pleasures in this life. I think this is vital, for we can so easily take what God has so freely given us and abuse it to the point that we unwittingly abuse others around us. We can also become an "Eeyore" Christian and others see us as people who do not know the meaning of fun! We are going to travel down the road in learning boundaries and what to look for as we learn to truly enjoy God given pleasures. We must remember that all pleasures were God's idea first and those pleasures include sex, food, luxuries, friendships, conversations, all things that bring us joy.

Judges 7, Gideon was instructed by God to select his army. God knew that it was too big so He told him to bring his warriors to a river so they could drink. "Keep ones who kneel to drink water from their hands." 300 men were all that Gideon has to go into battle with. These men drank with their heads up keeping their eyes aware of their surroundings. (Really must read the scripture to really be able to see it yourself, Judges 6:33-7:8).

With these verses in mind we come to point #1. "Anything that refreshes you without distracting you from, diminishing, or destroying your final goal is a legitimate pleasure...point within that goal: You first have to draw out what your final goal is. If you never draw out what your purpose is, you will never know what will refresh you along the way. Problem with pleasure today, most of us have not drawn out a final purpose in life. Once you have established that then you know what can distract, diminish, or destroy you along the way," (RZ).

What is your final goal in life. Really it does not have to be that big... What is your goal in the stage you are in right now? If you are a college student, is your goal to finish school, to retain the knowledge you are given? If you are a mother, what is your goal? A father, what is your goal? What is your goal within your business? While you are establishing your goal there is a catch. Your goal needs to be wrapped around one main theme: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’"

In seeing now your goal and what must be the main theme within that goal, now it is time to define sin. “Whatever weakens your reasoning, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes away your relish for spiritual things. In short, if anything increases the authority and power of the flesh over the spirit, then that to you becomes sin, however good it is in itself," (Susanna Wesley) Sin is that thing that comes in and separates you from your goals and from God, the One who wants the best for your life. Stop and really reflect on that, then go on to point number two.

In 2 Samuel 23, David, weary from battle, longs for a simple drink from his well in Bethlehem. His best men sneak behind enemy lines and bring him that drink. He is first elated about a taste of his own water then looks at his men and decides that their lives are worth more and they should have never risked their lives for his refreshment.

Point #2: "Any pleasure that jeopardizes the sacred right of another, is an illicit pleasure for you," (RZ).

I could go into so many examples for this one, but I will let you think of the things that you have done in your own life that were not really a big deal for you, but what about those whom you influence, those who were with you. Think about how that could affect them.

Short and simple, point #3: Proverbs 25:16, “If you find honey, eat just enough— too much of it, and you will vomit.” "Any pleasure , however good, if not kept in balance will distort reality or destroy your appetite," (RZ).

We all must look at these tree main points, keeping the main goal in mind, then we will learn how to truly enjoy this life. There are boundaries that we must keep, for if we do not, we will come to the point of that pleasure and want to vomit. This lesson is more for me than I care to really admit. I have lived this life without boundaries. I have tried this life with rules that were not attached to heart. Really all that matters is the fact that I keep my eyes upon this goal, ("'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’") and learn to walk in a way that leads others in the direction of true pleasure as well.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27, “Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.”