Pleasure, Happiness, & Joy
Posted: April 18th, 2009, 3:50 am
HEALING SHELTER MINISTRIES #131ar Re-Written 18APR09
Save Me Today—Part Forty Four: Pleasure, Happiness, & Joy
by rev dave c
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus (1Th 5:16-18; NIV). If we were to really live up to this exhortation from Paul (not just on a sometimes basis, or when we “feel like it”), we would see amazing growth in our personal life, and other people would be beating a path to our community churches. You see, most people can eventually, if not immediately, discover deficiencies in a product no matter how creatively it’s advertised—and they can spot someone who is “acting” like they are something, or someone, that they’re not. This is especially true when it comes to living righteously, knowing genuine peace, and experiencing insuppressible joy (Ro 14:17&18). These are the attributes that Christians are to be presenting to the World, and in a measure that is overflowing—but just talking the talk is not enough, for the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power (1Co 4:20; NIV). In pursuit of joy, the World wears itself out chasing after pleasure. In pursuit of joy, the World wears itself out chasing after happiness. We, as believers, know that joy is not to be found in either pleasure or happiness. Joy is to be found only within the context of salvation through faith in the sacrifice and promises of Jesus Christ, and by living a repentant life through the power of the Holy Spirit.
As tied to what we experience of our material world via our five senses (the ability to see, hear, touch, taste, and smell), pleasure, and its opposite, pain, only exist as we are experiencing them. The intensity and duration of pain and pleasure in our lives is a combination of clinically observable actions/reactions within our nervous system, and subjective responses unique to each individual. What I may find very painful, you might describe as a mild discomfort. Simplistically, however, when the stimulation and our biological response stops…so does the pleasure, or the pain. What we feel physically exercises great influence on how we “feel” emotionally both as a direct response and as a residual artifact, or memory. It is important to remember that God created pleasure for us to enjoy in all aspects of our life, but within the boundaries of His commandments. It was also God who created pain, so that we might know when “something is wrong” within our existence.
Unlike physical pleasure and pain that only last as long as they are being experienced, happiness and misery are deeper seated within our psychical experiences and are subsequently longer lived. Happiness can be described as our “mind self” becoming comfortable, and so misery can be described as internal discomfort ranging from discontent to sadness to wretchedness. The word “happiness” is derived from the middle English word “hap” which means “favorable circumstances.” Consequently, happiness and misery are contingent on causes outside of ourselves, resulting in our lives being an ebb and flow across a Happiness-Misery scale. The world system strives to teach that pleasure, the avoidance of pain, and/or a confusion of pain and pleasure will bring happiness. Anyone who has gone down any of those paths knows that they inevitably lead to a literal dead end. As we mature, most people discover that matters of health, relationships, financial security, self-confidence, and social acceptance are the sources for happiness...or misery—but as our situations fluctuate, so do our mental attitudes. A happy, “ideal”, life that took years to build can be utterly destroyed within the seconds of a devastating car wreck.
Finally, in the deepest areas of our existence we experience joy and sorrow. We are told in Second Corinthians 7:10 that The Bible differentiates between two types of sorrow, Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death (NIV). Whereas worldly sorrow is merely remorse for things not working out as we had imagined and/or getting caught in some violation or other—Godly sorrow is associated with repentance that brings about a change of mind and heart. The opposite of sorrow is joy. Scripture tells us that along with righteousness and peace, joy in the Holy Spirit is one of three “matters” of the Kingdom of God (Ro 14:17). Essentially, as Believers, if we seek after righteousness born of love for God, we gain a peace that surpasses all understanding. As we find peace in the face of daily storms, we become filled with joy...because we have the Holy Spirit quickening and living in our spirit. In John 15:10&11 Jesus tells us directly how to gain this joy in our spirit: If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete (NIV).
Just as pursuing pleasure can not bring happiness, running after happiness can not bring joy. The culture of the World follows the dictates of its god, who desperately desires to sell us the very poison that kills us—and at a price that exceeds our ability to pay. While sorrow is readily available and evident throughout this existence, Acts 4:12 tells us that Jesus Christ is our only hope for redemption and relief from suffering: Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (NIV). Joy is available only through the calling of God the Father, acceptance of forgiveness from the Son, and the receiving of the Holy Spirit into our person. In Jeremiah 31:13 God promises those who repent, I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow (NIV). Although pain and pleasure are moment by moment, and misery and happiness are season by season—like hate and love, we must each choose either sorrow or joy in this life, for they are mutually exclusive and they endure from now to forever. Amen.
Save Me Today—Part Forty Four: Pleasure, Happiness, & Joy
by rev dave c
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus (1Th 5:16-18; NIV). If we were to really live up to this exhortation from Paul (not just on a sometimes basis, or when we “feel like it”), we would see amazing growth in our personal life, and other people would be beating a path to our community churches. You see, most people can eventually, if not immediately, discover deficiencies in a product no matter how creatively it’s advertised—and they can spot someone who is “acting” like they are something, or someone, that they’re not. This is especially true when it comes to living righteously, knowing genuine peace, and experiencing insuppressible joy (Ro 14:17&18). These are the attributes that Christians are to be presenting to the World, and in a measure that is overflowing—but just talking the talk is not enough, for the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power (1Co 4:20; NIV). In pursuit of joy, the World wears itself out chasing after pleasure. In pursuit of joy, the World wears itself out chasing after happiness. We, as believers, know that joy is not to be found in either pleasure or happiness. Joy is to be found only within the context of salvation through faith in the sacrifice and promises of Jesus Christ, and by living a repentant life through the power of the Holy Spirit.
As tied to what we experience of our material world via our five senses (the ability to see, hear, touch, taste, and smell), pleasure, and its opposite, pain, only exist as we are experiencing them. The intensity and duration of pain and pleasure in our lives is a combination of clinically observable actions/reactions within our nervous system, and subjective responses unique to each individual. What I may find very painful, you might describe as a mild discomfort. Simplistically, however, when the stimulation and our biological response stops…so does the pleasure, or the pain. What we feel physically exercises great influence on how we “feel” emotionally both as a direct response and as a residual artifact, or memory. It is important to remember that God created pleasure for us to enjoy in all aspects of our life, but within the boundaries of His commandments. It was also God who created pain, so that we might know when “something is wrong” within our existence.
Unlike physical pleasure and pain that only last as long as they are being experienced, happiness and misery are deeper seated within our psychical experiences and are subsequently longer lived. Happiness can be described as our “mind self” becoming comfortable, and so misery can be described as internal discomfort ranging from discontent to sadness to wretchedness. The word “happiness” is derived from the middle English word “hap” which means “favorable circumstances.” Consequently, happiness and misery are contingent on causes outside of ourselves, resulting in our lives being an ebb and flow across a Happiness-Misery scale. The world system strives to teach that pleasure, the avoidance of pain, and/or a confusion of pain and pleasure will bring happiness. Anyone who has gone down any of those paths knows that they inevitably lead to a literal dead end. As we mature, most people discover that matters of health, relationships, financial security, self-confidence, and social acceptance are the sources for happiness...or misery—but as our situations fluctuate, so do our mental attitudes. A happy, “ideal”, life that took years to build can be utterly destroyed within the seconds of a devastating car wreck.
Finally, in the deepest areas of our existence we experience joy and sorrow. We are told in Second Corinthians 7:10 that The Bible differentiates between two types of sorrow, Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death (NIV). Whereas worldly sorrow is merely remorse for things not working out as we had imagined and/or getting caught in some violation or other—Godly sorrow is associated with repentance that brings about a change of mind and heart. The opposite of sorrow is joy. Scripture tells us that along with righteousness and peace, joy in the Holy Spirit is one of three “matters” of the Kingdom of God (Ro 14:17). Essentially, as Believers, if we seek after righteousness born of love for God, we gain a peace that surpasses all understanding. As we find peace in the face of daily storms, we become filled with joy...because we have the Holy Spirit quickening and living in our spirit. In John 15:10&11 Jesus tells us directly how to gain this joy in our spirit: If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete (NIV).
Just as pursuing pleasure can not bring happiness, running after happiness can not bring joy. The culture of the World follows the dictates of its god, who desperately desires to sell us the very poison that kills us—and at a price that exceeds our ability to pay. While sorrow is readily available and evident throughout this existence, Acts 4:12 tells us that Jesus Christ is our only hope for redemption and relief from suffering: Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (NIV). Joy is available only through the calling of God the Father, acceptance of forgiveness from the Son, and the receiving of the Holy Spirit into our person. In Jeremiah 31:13 God promises those who repent, I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow (NIV). Although pain and pleasure are moment by moment, and misery and happiness are season by season—like hate and love, we must each choose either sorrow or joy in this life, for they are mutually exclusive and they endure from now to forever. Amen.