The Hedonism Venom

“Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul” (1 Peter 2:11).

Why are young girls becoming pregnant in record numbers? Why are obesity, alcoholism, and drug use at all-time highs? More importantly, why are so many sins of the flesh found inside the church? The word to describe what is going on is this: hedonism. 

Last month we looked at materialism as the placing of the physical above the spiritual, particularly regarding “the finer things in life.” Well, if materialism is the parent, then hedonism is definitely its child. Hedonism is a poison which has captured the hearts of the youth of our nation, even bleeding into the youth groups of our churches.

The Problem with Hedonism

The most common description of hedonism is this: it is the pursuit and complete devotion to pleasure. This pursuit is so absolute that pleasure becomes first and last in thoughts, and lived out as daily lifestyles. Pleasure is thought to be the highest good one can obtain. The hedonist is constantly embarking on a self-indulgent quest for pleasure, with everything else left secondary.

Never in all of history has instant pleasure-fulfillment been so outspread. It would be one thing if a sense of struggle was involved. As Christians, we are familiar with the struggle of knowing what is right, yet fighting our desire to sin. I sense no struggle with many Christians, though. They honestly feel God wants them to be happy and to feel pleasure above all else. As a result, our youth are having premarital sex at about the same rate as the un-churched. They are not the least bit apologetic about it either.

It’s not only the youth whose behavior is matching that of the world. Divorce among Christian adults is similar to that of the world. This is because many Christians feel that if they are not happy, surely God would approve of them escaping their unhappy marriage.

The Paradox of Hedonism

Pleasure itself is not wrong; after all, God is the creator of all that is good. He is the One who made the part of our minds which tells us something is pleasurable. He has also created the very things that bring us joy, like sex, food, drinks or whatever. But, Satan enters doing what he does best—distorting all that is good. 

Instead of pleasure being the icing God gives us on top of our cake, happiness has been distorted so that it is the cake itself. Satan tricks us into putting first what God does not intend to be first. What happens as a result is what is called the paradox of hedonism. Those who are intent on their own pleasures actually gain less gratification in the end.

Proverbs 21:17 tells us, “He who loves pleasure will become a poor man.” In a parable, Jesus also said, “The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity” (Luke 8:14). The biggest let-down of hedonism is that it promises pleasure, but leaves only emptiness and fruitlessness.

Solutions

1. Delayed gratification
When we look at Jesus’ life, we do not see someone whose sole purpose was having His pleasures met. He worked hard, despite how tired He got and how often people opposed His ministry. He went into Jerusalem, knowing what awaited Him. He endured a highly unfair trial, was beaten horribly, then tortured and killed on the cross. Yes, He was raised from the dead, but that does not take away from the fact that He willingly endured terrible suffering.

Why did Jesus do something which goes against our natural instincts to take care of ourselves? Why have all those martyrs throughout the centuries laid down their lives when they had the option of living in relative peace and comfort?

It is because they saw something outside of their temporary suffering. Delayed gratification is a belief that we will experience more pleasure in the world to come than any of the immediate gratification we have now. We have a short life of meaningless pleasure, but one day will have everlasting joy in Heaven. Jesus and the martyrs knew their suffering was merely temporary.

It goes beyond just postponing the pleasure we receive; that would simply be a delayed form of hedonism. Rather, Jesus suffered for a greater good, which is our salvation. The martyrs died for the sake of the gospel. There was a certain ideal they clung to, despite threat of torture and death. This enabled them to delay their gratification.

2. Denial of self
The problem is that our sinful nature has made us egoists; we are motivated by self-interest. No one is loved nearly as much as we love ourselves. Jesus knew this to be true, which is why He told us to love our neighbors as ourselves. He knew about our self-love, so He turned the tables, teaching us to extend the love we have for ourselves to others.

Jesus was not content with us simply loving ourselves and others equally, though. He took it a step further by commanding us to deny ourselves. He said, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me” (Matt.16:24). Instead of being motivated by self-interest, like the egoists we are, the self part is to be denied and deleted from our internal programs.

Jesus asks us to die to our sins and lusts daily, crucifying the flesh. Just as Jesus’ body was pierced with nails, and his lungs suffocated through crucifixion, we are to pin our lusts up and choke the life out of these sins that wage war against our spirit.
 
What we need in our country, our homes, and our churches is a little bit of self-restraint. We can begin a new life-road of controlling our passions by keeping our eyes on the Lord through prayer and His Word. Remember, our destination is not a wonderful place as much as it’s a wonderful person…God Almighty.

3. Desire for unity
In one of Jesus’ beatitudes, He taught us, “Blessed is the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” A pure heart simply means having a heart that is undivided. When we as Christians put our fleshly desires above our spiritual ones our heart becomes split in two. A heart that is split cannot hope to function properly.

Young people who think they can have it both ways by going to church and sleeping with their boy/girlfriends are missing out. I sincerely believe we forfeit God’s work in our lives when we try to have it both ways. God only knows how much I missed out on when I tried to live both carnally and spiritually throughout high school and college.

It is true that delaying gratification and denying self will make us happier in the long run. But to see God working in our lives and actually using us to bring about His will is such an opportunity. It is an opportunity we risk forfeiting if we embrace a life of hedonism. If we strive for purity in our hearts, we are promised in Scripture that will see God.

Next month we will continue our study of the devil’s poisonous philosophies when we will study rationalism. Until then, my prayer is that God blesses you in ways that further His Kingdom.