What the Bible Says about Pleasure

Everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude.

–1 Timothy 4:4

Asceticism says you can make yourself acceptable to God by depriving yourself of pleasure. But the Bible has a different perspective on ascetism and pleasure. In Colossians 2, Paul pointed out that asceticism has a temporal focus. He wrote, “Why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, ‘Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!’ (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)?” (vv. 20–22). Ascetics build their religion around what you cannot do regarding food and drink, sex, and money. But all those things are temporary. The Bible says it’s foolish to build your relationship with God around things that will pass away.

Asceticism is also built around man-made restrictions. Paul said asceticism is “in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men” (v. 22). Any religion that is built around abstaining from pleasure does not come from God. In 1 Timothy 4, Paul warned about false teachers. He described them as “men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer” (vv. 3–5).

Is marriage wrong? No, marriage was created by God. What about food and drink? No, in Mark 7:15, Jesus said clearly that there is no such thing as sinful food or drink. What about pleasure? Ecclesiastes 2:24 says, “There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God.”

That leads me to what I call the pleasure principle: pleasure is a gift from God that is meant to draw us toward God rather than drive us away from God.

Yes, you can abuse the pleasure God has given you. Think about a river, which is a wonderful, life-giving force as long as it stays within its banks. But when a river overflows its banks, it becomes a destructive force. It’s the same thing with God’s gifts in our lives. Sex, money, food, and drink are wonderful gifts from God. But when we enjoy those gifts outside the boundaries God has established, they become destructive forces–immorality, idolatry, gluttony, and drunkenness. Pleasure is not bad; it’s a gift from God meant to draw us toward God rather than drive us away from God.

***

Today’s devotion is adapted from “The Pleasure Principle” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2012.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.