I always look forward to summer. The warm sunshine, baseball, beaches
are pleasures that bring joy after a long, cold winter. But pleasure-seeking
isn’t just seasonal. Don’t we all enjoy good food, engaging conversation, and a
crackling fire?
The desire for pleasure isn’t wrong. God has built us for it. Paul
reminds us that God “gives us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17).
Other passages welcome us to the healthy pleasure of food, friends, and the
intimacy of a marriage relationship. But thinking that we can find lasting
pleasure in people and things is ultimately an empty pursuit.
Ultimate pleasure is not found in the short-lived thrills our world
offers, but rather in the long-term joy from a deepening intimacy with our
Lord. King Solomon learned this the hard way. “I did not withhold my heart from
any pleasure,” he admitted (Eccl. 2:10). But after his pleasure-seeking spree, he
concluded: “All was vanity and grasping for the wind” (v.11). It’s no wonder he
warned, “He who loves pleasure will be a poor man” (Prov. 21:17).
What we are really looking for is satisfied only in a fulfilling and
growing relationship with God. Pursue Him and taste His delights!
Are we living for our own pleasure,
or living to please our God? (RBC)
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