Alexander Selkirk was one of those men who always had to learn
the hard way. The records of his church in Scotland show that he
was disciplined several times for causing trouble in the church. In
May of 1703 he said good-bye to all that, and at age 27 went off to
sea. He tried to run things on the ship as he did church, and he got
into a furious argument with the Captain. They were anchored off a
small island four hundred miles from Chile. Alexander got so mad
he packed up his possessions and went ashore. "You don't dare sail
without me," he shouted to the Captain. The Captain was not
impressed with his conviction, and gave the order to sail. Poor
Alexander could not believe it. He thought he was indispensable.
He was wadeing out up to his arm pits pleading for the Captain to
forgive him, but the Captain was as stubborn as he was, and he
sailed away, never to return.
Fortunately for Alexander the island had been inhabited by Jon
Fernandez two centuries earlier, and he had left some goats on the
island. These gave him food and skins. For four years and four
months he depended on them for survival. When he was finally
rescued, he could hardly remember how to talk. When he got back
to England he was a sensation, and several books were written about
him. The most famous was fiction, but it used his experience as a
model. The book was Robinson Crusoe.
That was a tough way to learn to keep his mouth shut. It is so
hard not to do something, or say something foolish or destructive
when you are angry. Even great men often have to learn the hard
way that loss of temper can be costly. Xerxes was the ruler of the
Persian Empire, he could have anything he pleased, but he lost his
wife, whom he truly treasured, because of his anger. Xerxes had a
reputation for losing his temper when he could not have his own
way. He once wanted to cross the waters of the hellespont, but it
was so rough his troops could not build a bridge. He got so angry he
took chains to the water, and he began to flog it. Like most temper
tantrums, it was not very effective.
It is so hard to play God when nature and others will not
cooperate. The water would not stop for him, and his wife would
not start for him, and he blew his stack. And why shouldn't he? He
was the most powerful man in the world, and why should he not get
angry for the same reason the rest of us get angry? Why do we get
angry? Primarily because something or someone has spoiled our
pleasure. We are not different from King Xerxes. He had his heart
set on seeing all his noble leaders gape in envy as he revealed the
beauty of his wife to them. Half the joy of possessing something is in
showing it to those who don't. Vashti had the audacity to rob him of
this pleasure. He blazed with anger within, because she would not
grant his whim.
If you examine your own life, you will discover that most of your
anger is based on the hindrance of your pleasure. You have plans,
and somebody does not cooperate, and the pleasure you hope for is
lost, and you are angry. Children cry most often because they can't
have their own way. Somebody is always hindering them from
having their pleasure. They want to play with the new camera you
just bought, and you insist it is not a toy, and there heart is broken.
They want to run barefoot in a junk infested lot, and you deny them
of their pleasure. On and on goes the list of pleasures a child desires
that are constantly being hindered by parents, who get no pleasure
out of picking up pieces of a two hundred dollar camera, and
rushing to the emergency room for stitches.
What we see then, is that from the beginning, life is a battle to see
whose pleasures are met, and whose are denied. Striving for
pleasure is a far more powerful factor in all of our lives then we
realize. Because we do not examine our lives from the perspective of
the pleasure motive, we look on the events of the book of Esther with
some degree of shock.It is scandalous that every beautiful virgin in
the empire was to be made available to the king, to meet his demand
for pleasure. Keep in mind, he is the most powerful man in the
world. The whole book revolves around his pleasure. What pleases
him determines the life or death of every human being of his time. If
he pleases, whole nations are destroyed,and if he pleases, they are
spared. God's providence had to work through His pleasure motive.
The first two chapters reveal that he was dominated by sensual
pleasure. His party life and sex life established the environment in
which the entire story takes place. Xerxes is no different than the
rulers of that part of the world today. A reporter who traveled to all
of the oil rich Arab countries, and interviewed all of the kings and
sheiks, reported that they lived just like Xerxes did. Wine, women,
and song, and every pleasure man is capable of was a way of life.
Xerxes is said to have offered a reward for anyone who could invent
a new pleasure. This is the challenge today for those who have so
much money they cannot think of any new way of spending it.
The book of Esther is not dealing with something old and
irrelevant, but rather, with a subject so real and relevant to all of us,
but one that we often fail to think about seriously, the subject of
pleasure. Before we get all bent out of shape about Xerxes, and his
lust for pleasure, lets examine our own lives. When we do, we will
discover that we are not so different from this sensual king. The
main difference is that we do not have the power and wealth to
command the pleasures he had, but the difference is really only one
of degree. We too enjoy parties with good things to eat and drink,
and we enjoy beautiful furniture and drapes. We enjoy nice clothes,
and I have seldom heard of a Christian who does not enjoy sexual
pleasure.
The more we examine the Christian life, the more we begin to
realize we are very pleasure oriented. We don't feel the lest guilt for
enjoying the pleasure of music, fellowship, an all that being a part of
the body of Christ involves. Why should we? Jesus enjoyed the
social pleasures of His time. He enjoyed the party, the wedding, the
feasting, the singing, the fun of fishing, and fellowship. So what we
have is, the paradox of pleasure. It is both something we are to crave
and seek and enjoy, and yet it is something that can be so dangerous
that it can quickly lead us to fall, and be out of the will of God.
Pleasure is both a virtue and a vice.
The search for pleasure is the primary motivation behind the evil
of man. Satan appealed to the pleasure nature to get man to fall.
He said, taste the forbidden fruit and you will have the pleasure of
being like God, and they jumped at the chance. But good is also
motivated by pleasure. The Gospel is an appeal to the pleasure
nature as well, for Jesus says, "Come unto me all ye who labor and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Jesus offers men the joy of
eternal life, and the pleasure of abundant life. There is not available
anywhere in the world a hope for greater pleasure than what Jesus
offers those who put their faith in Him.
What this means is we cannot afford to be reacting as Christians
so often do. They look at Xerxes, and his six months banquet of
gluttony, drunkenness, and perpetual beautiful virgins for his lust,
and they say this is disgusting. Then they think their mission in life
should be to prevent as much pleasure as possible. This over
reaction to evil pleasure in the world has caused Christians to totally
misrepresent Christ, and pervert the Gospel so that it loses its
appeal to most everyone but sadist who delight in pain. History is
full of the folly of Christian ascetics, who thought they pleased God
by pain rather pleasure. They wore hair shirts to itch and be
miserable. They flogged themselves thinking that suffering was the
key to sanctification. Fun and pleasure were so related to sin that
misery and boredom were exalted to the level of virtues.
To avoid this reaction to worldly pleasure we need to see where
the Bible stands on the issue of pleasure. The first thing we see, as
we examine God's Word, is that God is the Creator of pleasure. He
made the world and man, and said it is very good, and He took
pleasure in all that He had made. He made man with a nervous
system capable of enjoying much pleasure of sight, sound, taste,
smell, and feeling. He designed man to be a pleasure loving
creature. Every pleasure we are capable of is a cause to thank God,
for it is by His will we have that capacity. David acknowledges God
as the source of all of life's pleasures in Psa. 36:7-8. "How precious
is thy steadfast love, O God! The children of men take refuge in the
shadow of thy wings. They feast on the abundance of thy house, and
thou givest them drink from the rivers of thy pleasures."
God gives rivers of pleasure, even in time, before the believers
dwell by the River of Life, where all pain will be forever gone, and
life will be endless pleasure, for, "At God's right hand our pleasures
for ever more." (Psa. 16:11). God delights in the pleasures of His
servants says Psa. 35:27. God is a personality who enjoys great
pleasure Himself. Psa. 149:4 says, "For the Lord takes pleasure in
His people." As we, as parents and grandparents, take pleasure in
seeing our children grow and develop, so God delights in His
children.
God wanted the temple rebuilt in Jerusalem, and He said to the
people in Hag. 1:8, "Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the
house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may appear in my
glory, says the Lord." God is no where revealed as a vast cosmic
machine. God is a person who feels, and His goal is to accomplish
what is good and pleasurable. Phil. 2:13 says, "For God is at work
in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." Jesus said
in Luke 12:32, "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's
good pleasure to give you the kingdom."
Let's get it straight in our minds, God is not a sadist who loves
pain and delights in suffering . The goal of God is pleasure for
Himself, and for all His people. He makes it clear in Ezek. 18:23.
"Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord God,
and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?" God's
goal for every man is a goal of pleasure. Hell is pain and heaven is
pleasure, and heaven is always God's goal. I looked in a dictionary
of synonyms and antonyms, and found this list of the opposites of
pleasure. Listen to them, and see if you catch the flow of heaven or
hell.
Displeasure Evil Desolation
Sorrow Pain Anxiety
Woe Hurt Burden
Grief Wound Adversity
Suffering Affliction Trouble
Vexation Anguish Unhappiness
Worry Despair Tribulation
Sickness Misfortune
This is not an ideal shopping list for Christmas, or any other day
in life. In fact, the only place you can get that list fulfilled perfectly
is in hell. Not a one of them will be a part of heaven. So we are
stuck with an enormous paradox. The entire plan of God, and the
goal of Christians, is pleasure. Yet, that seems to be the major
problem of sinful man, and the primary method of worldliness.
Even Plato could see it and say, "Pleasure is the greatest incentive to
evil." It is the pleasure principle that leads men into every form of
lust, and which takes them lower than the beast. Yet, it is the
pleasure principle that leads men to the highest levels of godliness,
and enables them to fulfill the purpose of God.
The book of Esther is a perfect illustration of the paradox of
pleasure. It begins with a feast that is dedicated to worldly pleasure,
and gratification of the senses. It ends with the proclamation of a
perpetual feast that will also gratify the senses, but will be in
thanksgiving for the providence of God. The pleasure of the people
of God at a banquet is no less enjoyable than that of the sensuous
secularist. Xerxes had more of every sensual pleasure, but the fact
is, he did not enjoy eating, sexuality, and other aesthetic
pleasures anymore than the Jews did, or than Christians do today.
How then can we distinguish between pleasures which are
displeasing to God, and those which please Him? How can we
unravel this paradox so we know which side we are on? How can we
know if we are at Xerxes's banquet, or Esther's banquet? The first
thing we need to do is to recognize pleasure is not evil. It is good,
and from God. Then we need to recognize that all good can be
perverted and abused. That is what evil is-it is good used in a way
that God never intended.
C. S. Lewis in The Screwtape Letters has the Sr. devil writing to
the Jr. devil explaining the work of temptation. He writes, "Never
forget that when we are dealing with any pleasure in its healthy and
normal and satisfying form, we are, in a sense, on the Enemy's
ground. I know we have won many a soul through pleasure. All the
same, it is His invention, not ours. He made the pleasures; all our
research so far has not enabled us to produce one. All we can do is
to encourage the humans to take the pleasures which our
Enemy has produced, at times, or in ways, or in degrees, which he
has forbidden."
The tempters task is to get men to think, if a little is good, a lot
must be better. If he can get men to use God's pleasures to excess,
he can get them hooked, so that the very gifts of God become idols,
that lead them astray from God. Such is the subtle plan of the
deceiver, and it is a very effective plan. We live in a culture where
pleasure is no longer a gift from God, for it has become god.
Norman Lobsenz has written a book titled, Is Anybody Happy. It is
a study of the American search for pleasure. The goal of life for
Americans is a good time. Our national Mecca is Disney World.
Pleasure is the alpha and omega of life. The national heroes are no
longer the titans of industry, or the somber statesman, or solitary
inventors. Now it is the movie star, the sports hero, and
international playboy, who have taken their place.
The important thing now is to have fun. Lobsenz writes,
"Advertisers, never slow to sense a trend, have leaped on the
bandwagon, and there is now hardly an artifact or an activity that is
not intimately connected with spine-tingling happiness. Brushing
your teeth with a certain tooth paste, of course-is fun. Cutting the
grass-with a certain lawnmower-is exciting. Do you want to know
the real joy of good living? Drink a certain beer....soap flakes give
glamorous suds. It is fun to paint your house with so and so's paint.
Eye glasses are bewitching. Light bulbs are romantic. Building
materials are festive. Soft drinks are sociable. Kitchen appliances
are smart. Anything you buy that is made of shining aluminum will
mirror your laughter. Even paying the bills for these items is a
pleasure if you have an account at a certain bank." Lobsenz says he
expects someday to see a billboard with the bony finger of Uncle
Sam pointing at him asking, "Have you had your fun today?"
We are under a new morality-the fun morality. It says, if it feels
good do it. It is not new of course, for Xerxes was a pro at it 2,500
years ago. Instead of feeling ashamed for having too much pleasure,
from now on we are to feel guilty if we do not have enough. People
are now going to psychiatrist and asking, "What is wrong with me?
I can't let go and have enough fun." People feel so obligated to have
fun they attack it with all the energy they use to put into
achievement. This pursuit of pleasure often ends in broken
marriages, broken lives, and death, especially for those who find
their pleasure in alcohol and other drugs.
Is the Christian approach to try and be a kill joy, and oppose
pleasure, and call people back to a work ethic, where go go go is the
battle cry? Not at all! The Christian is for pleasure too, for that is
God's plan for man. The Christian simply needs to point out the
folly of making pleasure an idol. It is not the end of life, but a means
to a higher end. "Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him
forever." We are into pleasure too, but because it is not an end in
itself, but a means to the end of enjoying God, we have an objective
standard by which we measure the value of all pleasures. In other
words, we count the cost. Satan does not want man to count the
cost, for his whole strategy is to get men to choose pleasure at any
cost. The cost factor is what enables the Christian to have a guide to
legitimate pleasure. You can tell if you are being excessive in your
pursuit of pleasure by what it is costing you.
Any pleasure that costs you your growth in Christian fruitfulness
is folly, and excessive pleasure. Jesus made this clear in the parable
of the sower, where the seed that fell among the thorns did not lead
to fruitfulness. He tells us in Luke 8:14, "There are those who hear,
but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches
and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature." They pay too
much for their pleasure. They lose the highest pleasure of life-the
pleasure of pleasing God, and being what He wills, for the sake of
pleasure that will pass away. They trade in their diamonds for
marbles.
The Gospel is not a call to forsake pleasure, but it is a call to rise
to higher pleasure, and to enjoy that which lasts forever. The
motive for all self-denial, which keeps the Christian from immoral
pleasure, is the hope for enduring pleasure. Listen to Paul giving
counsel to the rich Christians who could so easily indulge themselves
in excessive pleasures. He writes in I Tim. 6:17-19, "As for the rich
in this world, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hope
on uncertain riches but on God who richly furnishes us with
everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good deeds,
liberal and generous, thus laying up for themselves a good
foundation for the future. So that they may take hold of the life
which is life indeed."
Paul is saying, you only go around once in this life, so do it with
gusto. But for Paul, that does not mean to drink beer, it means to
enjoy the higher and lasting pleasures of doing the will of God,
which guarantees we will have abundant life now, and an eternal life
of pleasure on the highest level. The Christian is one who evaluates
pleasure, and does not just grab at it indiscriminately. He asks, does
this enlarge, or does it enrich my Christian life, and my attitude of
gratitude to God? The Christian is on the greatest pleasure trip
possible. If we could not assert that the plan of Christ leads to the
greatest pleasure for the greatest number, we would be saying that
there is a better way. The fact is, no one even pretends to offer a
better way than Christ. We can say with the advertisers who are
confident of their products, "If you can find a better way than
Christ-take it."
When referring to God, it is an absolute truth that Father knows
best. He forbids only those forms of pleasure which, in the long
run, lead to pain greater than the pleasure. God never forbids any
pleasure which will last, and be a part of your growth toward the
goal of becoming like Him. He only forbids that which costs too
much. Forbidden pleasure is a rip off. It costs you the favor of God,
and usually has a kick back of pain that far exceeds the pleasure.
How often people take drugs to feel good, only to end up in jail or
worse, and feeling rotten, and with problems that are now worse
than before. Biblical morality is a fight back morality. It is a
demand that you don't be a sucker, and get ripped off by cheap
imitations.
Jesus Christ, and He alone, offers the real thing-life abundant
and life eternal. He paid and enormous cost, and endured the pains
of hell, that we might enjoy the pleasures of heaven. Whatever price
we need to pay to be loyal to Him is small cost for so great a gift.
The martyr who suffers death rather than deny Christ, does so for
pleasure. He knows the cost is nothing compared to what he will
enjoy at Christ's right hand. That is why one of my favorite
preachers, F. W. Boreham, said, "The tragedy of the age is not that
people are getting too much pleasure, but that they are not getting
enough." Life Xerxes, the world is pleasure mad, but in all of their
sensual self-indulgence, they do not find the pleasure of peace and
meaning, or eternal hope. They pursue pleasure as a god, and are
left empty. The Christian pursues the will of God, and is filled with
pleasure.
The world grabs the rose and clutches and thus must bare the
pains of the thorn. The Christian does not need to grasp it, but can
enjoy it, and not cling, for he knows he cannot lose the rose even if it
dies, for he is a child of the rose's Creator, and knows the rose will
be his forever. Honey is bought to dear by those who risk the bees
stingers. The Christian is one who is wise in his pleasure seeking.
He enjoys all God has given us to enjoy, but avoiding excess and the
forbidden, knowing this leads to the greatest pleasure.
Contrary to the view that Christianity is opposed to the search
for pleasure, the opposite is the case. We have found the very thing
man is searching for, the way to the highest most lasting pleasure of
which man is capable. With this highest goal of salvation settled, the
Christian then can enjoy the lesser pleasures of life more completely,
for they are not so essential that he has to cling to them for meaning.
The highest and permanent being assured in Christ, he can relax,
and enjoy the passing without the risk of idolatry.
To sum it up, the paradox of pleasure is that the pursuit of
pleasure can lead you to the pit of hell, or to the pinnacle of heaven.
It is life's most dangerous or delightful path to travel.
The ecstasy of victory, or the agony of defeat, awaits all who travel
it. Which you find depends on whether Xerxes is your example, or
Jesus Christ. You either do what pleases you with no higher loyalty
than your own pleasure, or you do what pleases God, with His will
as your motive for rejecting or accepting pleasure. Those who
choose the way of Christ, saying, not my will but thine be done, will
enjoy at God's right hand pleasure for ever more.
