Sin is fun…in the moment.  Sin brings pleasure…in the moment.  Sin satisfies…in the moment.

However, when the sinful moment is gone: Fun becomes sorrow, pleasure becomes pain, satisfaction becomes emptiness.

Mankind’s aggressive pursuit of sin has never shocked me.  It is part of our fleshly makeup.  Until we encounter the One who can satisfy our thirst for pleasure, we don’t understand any other way.  Conscience, that ingrained moral code in all people, is a real thing; but, honestly, it is a pretty weak chaperon until it is governed by the Holy Spirit.

What does amaze and sadden me is how quickly those who profess to have a relationship with Jesus will pursue worldly pleasures.

Why does this happen?  Why are we still so prone to fall back into the old and dead ways?

With what I am about to say, some may cast me into the category of a judgmental fundamentalist who is here to cast stones at other believers who aren’t “perfect.” Others might label me as a flaming liberal who is soft on sin.  As I trust you to withhold judgment until I finish, I do want to make three things clear:

1) I don’t point the finger without taking a hard look at myself.  Even as Christians, we all are guilty.  Left unchecked we all tend to veer toward sin and self.  We are not perfect – that is without debate.  The issue, though, is not perfection; rather, the issue is direction.  Which way are we headed?  What is our goal?

2) This pursuit of worldly pleasure is not a new 21st Century phenomenon.  The Bible is full of passages addressing these very things.  Sin has always been a problem and it has always been rooted in self.  The specifics may be different as the decades pass by, but the problem is still the same.  Look at what Paul wrote to Timothy nearly 2000 years ago (and go slowly through this):

“But know this: difficult times will come in the last days.  For people will be
lovers of self,
lovers of money,
boastful,
proud,
blasphemers,
disobedient to parents,
ungrateful,
unholy,
unloving,
irreconcilable,
slanderers,
without self-control,
brutal,
without love for what is good,
traitors,
reckless,
conceited,
lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
holding to the form of religion but denying its power.  Avoid these people.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5

Paul’s list to Timothy certainly does not sound antiquated or irrelevant to our times.  In fact, it sounds like a pretty good description of much of what we see today.  I have additional comments for each one of those sins mentioned but for the sake of space I will refrain.

3) In an effort to get people to hate sin as much as God does, some Christians over the centuries have railed against sinners and sin with zeal and passion.  Their intent to herald purity and godliness is excellent.  The method of in-your-face dogmatism, however, is misguided and  often un-Christlike.   One negative effect of this belligerent evangelism is that we gave to Satan the copyright on “pleasure.”

Things that are pleasurable must be sinful, right?  Is this the intent of Scripture?  Is the devoted and godly life only seen in a life that abstains from any hint of pleasure or fun?  Is the primary goal of Christian living to avoid sin or is it something else altogether?

Tune in Wednesday and I will tell you what I think.

Just to give you some food for thought, I want to leave you with one quote to chew on.  I will tell you who said it on Wednesday.

“The greatest hindrance to worship is not that we are a pleasure-seeking people, but that we are willing to settle for such pitiful pleasures.”