The Pleasure Seeker Alienates God and Causes Strife with Others
- Jack Selcher
- Oct 1
- 3 min read
Pleasure-seeking is the backbone of American culture. But it is not God’s way.
Paul wrote, “But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives” (1 Timothy 5:6 NIV). Those who live for pleasure are dead to God, even if the census still counts them.
Pursuing pleasure alienates others and causes strife (James 4:1). The Greek word translated “desires” is closely related to hedonism.
A hedonist’s goal is to experience pleasure. Two people with conflicting pleasure-seeking goals have all the ingredients for a fight.
On average, Christians in the United States give 2.5 percent of their income to churches.1 Meanwhile, in 2019, the average American spent 5.6 percent of their income on entertainment.2 Many professing Christians spend similarly.
Pleasure-seeking undermines fruit-bearing. Life’s worries, riches, and pleasures choke out God’s word and prevent it from bearing fruit (Luke 8:14).
Millions of professing Christians are so preoccupied with pleasure that they have almost no positive effect on the world for Christ.
Pleasure-seeking does not satisfy. Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 2 that the pursuit of pleasure is vanity.
James said, “…(You) do not have…you cannot get…you do not have” (4:2). Satisfaction from pleasure is like a mirage. It seems near but remains elusive.
The pleasure seeker alienates God. James labels pleasure-seeking as adultery because it is spiritual unfaithfulness to God. It is aligning yourself with the world’s ways of thinking and behaving.
If you make the world system your friend, you make yourself God’s enemy. God tolerates no rivals. He wants your exclusive love.
What hobbies, interests, etc., rival God for ultimate devotion in your life? You have crossed the line when something other than God is your defining passion.
The solution to pleasure-seeking is submission (James 4:7-10). The command to submit begins a chain of ten commands. All ten call for immediate action.
The humble person receives God’s grace. The entrance ramp to the highway of grace is submitting your will to God. Doing so cuts the binding cords of pleasure-seeking. That enables you to resist the devil’s suggestions. That’s how you draw near to God and tap His bounteous springs of grace. Faith is far more precious than pleasure-seeking.
God jealously yearns for your whole-hearted devotion. If some worldly pleasure has become bigger in your life than God, it is time to confess it.
All four commands in verse nine call for repentance. That is more than a hollow “I’m sorry.” The bottom line is to turn from pleasure-seeking to God.
A good test is to consider what you think and talk about when you are free to think and talk about anything. If it is something other than God, you are caught in the snare of pleasure-seeking. What is your takeaway? See additional free spiritual growth resources for Christians. #freediscipleshipresources #freeevangelismresources #freechristianleadershipresources
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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