Is Pleasure Wrong?

Guys, what drives you? What causes you to climb out of bed and face the world in the morning?

What I am talking about is your motivation.

We are all motivated by something. Something turns our crank and causes us to desire some type of activity, achievement, purpose or progress in life. What is it for you?

One of the motivations the Bible speaks of as inappropriate is the pursuit of pleasure...

"What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures" (James 4:1-3).

That's a hard-hitting passage, but one worthy of attention.

Modern research tells us that the pursuit of pleasure is what drives most people's decisions these days. There is actually a pleasure-inducing chemical in the brain called 'dopamine' that 'rewards' us with pleasurable feelings for choosing certain stimuli such as, where to go on a vacation, what foods to eat - even the intake of alcohol or narcotics.

How do you feel about that? Is it wrong to feel pleasure?

God is not against pleasure. However, He is against selfish or harmful pleasure.

In the verses cited above, the word for pleasure, in the original language of the New Testament, is hedone (HEE-do-nay), the word we get our word, hedonism from.

Hedonism was actually an ancient philosophy that argued that the only intrinsic worth in life is the pursuit of pleasure. If an activity did not produce pleasure, it was not worthy of a Hedonist's time or energy.

While our culture may not engage in the actual philosophy of Hedonism, it is certainly very Hedonistic. Drug and alcohol addiction is rampant - pornography and sex addiction as well. Overeating and food addictions are also prevalent.

Is this a cultural problem, or are people just acting out of what the Bible calls, our fallen nature?

I believe the overall tendency of fallen man is to be Hedonistic - to act out of what makes us feel good, whether that behavior is public or private.

Some men seem to have it all together on the outside, but in their private thoughts and activities, they are pleasure-oriented.

What are your thoughts on this? How do you see yourself with regard to how much you are driven by pleasure in your life?

As always, I welcome your thoughts below.