Wednesday
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. – Psalm 16:11
Have you ever stopped to think about what this Psalm means? What does it really mean that there are eternal pleasures waiting for us at the right hand of God? Is this just a poetic way of talking about heaven? Or is this Psalm talking about pleasures and joy that we can experience right now with God? One of the people who has and preached and written most about this concept is Pastor and theologian John Piper (I highly recommend his book Desiring God).
John Piper on “Christian Hedonism”…
“Does seeking your own happiness sound self-centered? Aren't Christians supposed to seek God, not their own pleasure? To answer this question we need to understand a crucial truth about pleasure-seeking (hedonism): we value most what we delight in most. Pleasure is not God's competitor, idols are. Pleasure is simply a gauge that measures how valuable someone or something is to us. Pleasure is the measure of our treasure…If God is the source of our greatest delight then God is our most precious treasure; which makes us radically God-centered and not self-centered. And if we treasure God most, we glorify Him most.”
The term “Hedonism” refers to the philosophy that the meaning of life is to be found in seeking pleasure. Piper uses the phrase “Christian Hedonism” to describe the way he believes Christians should pursue God. This sounds like a contradiction in terms doesn’t it? How can seeking pleasure and seeking God possibly go together? Should a Christian be a hedonist?
Is it okay for a Christian to think this way? Does the Bible teach this? Yes! Nowhere in the Bible does God ever condemn people for longing to be happy. People are condemned for forsaking God and seeking their happiness elsewhere.
Jeremiah 2:13 - My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
What two things are the people accused of doing?
1. Forsaking God.
2. Creating broken cisterns.
Why does God refer to Himself as a spring of living water?
Because He alone is the source of life and true satisfaction.
Why does God refer to the things the people have pursued as broken cisterns? (A cistern is an underground water tank or reservoir).
Because anything we turn to other than God will ultimately fail us.
Forsaking God and pursuing happiness elsewhere is the essence of sin.
Matthew 6:19-21 - Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Why does Jesus teach us to love God more than money?
Because our heart is where our treasure is.
Philippians 3:8 - What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.
What does Paul wants us to believe that is worth the loss of everything else?
Becasue Christ is worth the loss of everything else.
Hebrews 12:1-2 - Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Why does the author of Hebrews exhort us to endure suffering like Jesus did?
Because there is a great Joy set before us.
So, it turns out that Christian Hedonism is not a contradiction after all! God does not condemn us for seeking joy, happiness, and pleasure at all…in fact He tells us exactly where we will find it – In Him!
Jeff Frazier
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