Joy in Jesus Brings Contentment that Dark-Side Pleasures Do Not

I planted carrot seeds in my garden in mid-April every year. I harvested them at the end of August. It was a thrill to find the biggest one. That pleasure had a price. Because of the size of my carrots, store-bought versions tasted better.

Furthermore, I strained my back while weeding and thinning them. Plus, they occupied garden space that other vegetables could have filled more profitably. In 2020, I quit planting carrots. The upside was not worth the downside.

We naturally pursue unsatisfying, self-stroking, dark-side pleasures that the Bible calls sins as ends in themselves. The upside is not worth the downside.

Fulfilling, light-side pleasures are by-products of prioritizing God’s kingdom and righteousness (Matthew 6:33). They thrive when we live to benefit God and others.

Dark-side living is pleasure-sucking. Life is about us, and everything moves toward us. Sacrificial, light-side living is pleasure-pumping. Life is about fulfilling God’s purpose. God’s life moves away from us as we bless others. We experience a backflow of light-side pleasure in its highest, purest, and eternal form.

Solomon viewed pleasure through God-tinted glasses: “A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God” (Ecclesiastes 2:24 NIV). Keeping God in the center of life ushers us into light-side pleasures.

Dark side pleasures are self-focused. They thrill us as they kill us. For example, excessive drinking enables us to forget our problems temporarily at the crushing cost of damaging our physical, emotional, spiritual, mental, financial, and relational health.

Most dark-side pleasures, however, are more subtle than excessive drinking. They are more like trying to pet a rabid dog. We are unaware that pursuing these pleasures will not end well.

Dark-side pleasures rule self-centered lives—they are our default settings. Many of them are legal, well-advertised, and socially acceptable. They are not God-centered. They exact a high price for good feelings. Dark-side pleasures come in three main varieties.

“For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.” (1 John 2:16 NIV).

Dark-side pleasures are God-free and biblical-love-free. Like juicing an orange, we try to squeeze personal pleasure out of people, places, and things.

Self-serving thinking drives pleasure-seeking with usually unintended and sometimes catastrophic consequences. We drive the wrong way on God-posted one-way streets as a way of life and justify it. “I’m only going one way!” My way! It does not end well.

Light-side pleasures cost us something upfront. But when we spend our time, talents, finances, and energy to benefit God and others, the rewards are ocean-deep joy in Jesus and contentment on earth.

The Bible promises that additional rewards will follow (Matthew 6:1-6). Light-side pleasures are mountaintop experiences on earth, but the best is yet to come! What is your takeaway?

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God has empowered me to write His Power for Your Weakness—260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength. It’s a free, evangelistic, devotional, and discipleship e-book. Pastors have used it in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to lead 6,714 people to Christ and teach the basics of Christianity to 15,936 people. I invite you to explore and use it in your setting. 

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