Pastor Ralph Posted December 17, 2004 Report Share Posted December 17, 2004 Q21. (James 4:1-3) Is God against pleasure? What wrong in living to increase one’s pleasure? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt_Z_Squad Posted February 19, 2005 Report Share Posted February 19, 2005 1a.) (4:1-3) Is God against pleasure? 1a.) No. 1b.) (4:1-3) What wrong in living to increase one's pleasure? 1b.) It is "me-focused" and not "God focused." The sin nature in us is never satisfied as you can see in the world today. Through seeking to live a life filled with the Holy Spriit for the glory of God, that empty place in our heart that only God can fill; will satisfy. "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." (2 Peter 1:3-4) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnus Posted February 19, 2005 Report Share Posted February 19, 2005 Pleasure is not forbidden by God. Christians are not expected to live a vow of poverty, nor embrace a dour existence on Earth. But when pleasure seeking becomes obsessive and self-oriented Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelOnLine Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 Q1. (4:1-3) Is God against pleasure? God is not against pleasure. But when seeking pleasure becomes our main goal in life then we are not living for God. Self pleasure can become very destructive. What wrong in living to increase one's pleasure? When we live only for self pleasure we become selfish. When our prayers are centered on our pleasure alone, our focus in no longer on Him but on things of this world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helen Spaulding Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 Q1. (4:1-3) Is God against pleasure? What wrong in living to increase one's pleasure? There are Godly pleasures and there are non-Godly pleasures. If we live only to gain pleasure for ourselves--particularly pleasure in things God has said are sinful--we are only considering ourselves! That should be last on our list of concerns. God wants us to consider others first, not take what we can grab before our neighbor can get it! That is selfishness, which is sin. When we live for the Lord, we find our greatest pleasures are in serving Him by serving others! Sometimes we only look at what we will "give up" if we do something for others. But, when we do it anyway, we find only joy and deep satisfaction! So, if we live only for our pleasure, we miss His fellowship and the wonderful experience of being used by Him! No mere "pleasure" is worth that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindaparadise Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 Is God against pleasure? NO! he's not against all pleasures. I guess it depends what you consider to be a pleasure. If it belittles, hurts or takes away from someone else then yes GOD is against it. What wrong in living to increase one's pleasure? You'll get your pleasure if you deserve it. You don't have to go working towards it. GOD always gives you what is right including pleasure. If all you do is for pleasure than you are looking for a reward. If you get your reward now than you've already got it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kas Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 Absolutely not, as long as it's in line with His will. If our pleasure is preaching the gospel or using our gifts to glorify His name - pleasure it is!!! However, if our pleasure is non-edifying to others or ourselves and doesn't glorify God, it's wrong because it is a hindrance to those who might otherwise have come to the Lord, or it may offend a new believer (better a millstone be hung around one's neck than to offend these little ones..) and cause them to sin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyBeloved Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart." This verse says it all. If we are walking in fellowship and obedience with the LORD He will give us the desires of our heart because they will be in line with His will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grace Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 Is God against pleasure? God is against all delights of the flesh, that draw us away from the things He has prepared for us. However, kept in a proper balance, with the king- dom of God first in our lives , is acceptable to Him. Living to increase one's pleasure is a personal quarantee of missing out on what God has prepared for us. In the flesh dwelleth no good thing; they that are of the flesh are earthly minded, and they that are of the Spirit are heavenly minded. After Solomon got ALL of the pleasure that a man could wish for, his final conclusion was, "All is vanity and vexation of spirit". Sinful desires and affections stop prayer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Posted February 20, 2005 Report Share Posted February 20, 2005 1. No 2. For you are only thinking of yourself your own pleasure you are not thinking of others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccs Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 Q1. (4:1-3) Is God against pleasure? No, God wants us to have joy but the joy that comes with unselfish love. What wrong in living to increase one's pleasure? It only gives momentarily satisfaction. To give to others builds godly character and heavenly treasures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithd Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 Is God against pleasure? No, God loves for us to please ourselves and to satisfied at all times. He wants us to be happy as long as we know that this pleasure and happiness will not remove us from the ways of God. What wrong is in living to increase one's pleasure? Living to increase one's pleasure is not wrong in its own context, the reason why is the problem. I f we want to increase our pleasure because we want to show off and are self centered then it is wrong because we would be focusing on the things of the earth, BUT if our pleasure will be a blessing to God's children and we willuse it to testify of God's graetness then pleasure should increase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margaret Asuquo Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 God is not against our having pleasure-God -kind of pleasures. Living to increase one's pleasures is dangerous because most times it will be guided by our flesh that is always in enimity with God. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonS Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 In America we have the pronouns wrong. It is not about I or me. Our focus should be about him (Jesus) he (God). May be if we would take your eyes off your selves and look to Jesus we might see revival in America. When we are seekig pleasure we are looking to ourselves not to God. God wants us to have joy. Joy come when we are dead to ourselves and alive in Christ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherrylynn Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 Q1. (4:1-3) Is God against pleasure? What wrong in living to increase one's pleasure NO, God is not against pleasure. He created pleasure for us if we are obedient to him. MyBeloved's quote of Ps 37:4 is so on target. None of us could say it better than scripture. If we live to increase our pleasure then we are not living for God, but for ourselves. We are to deny self. Selfishness is sin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helenmm Posted February 21, 2005 Report Share Posted February 21, 2005 If Life more abundantly is not pleasure, than I don't know what is! God is for love. The greatest pleasures are in intimately knowing our glorious Lord Jesus, giving, having this marvellous international family, living in God's presence, knowing our heavenly rewards are coming. The world of the Father is joy in the midst of trouble, joy which can never be taken from us, the joy of the Lord is our strength. But cheap pleasures of the world are death traps and Father would have us avoid these at all costs. Livign to increase one's pleasure, when it is not measured by Godliness, is blind, ignorant, foolish, temporary, selfish. Selfish pleasure is destructive and desensitises us to those around us as well as to God. Desensitisation is akin to dehumanising (others). It effectively puts us out of (effective listening)communication with everyone. Awareness is everything in God's Kingdom. Life is alertness, knowledge, sensitivity, responsiveness, LOVE. Lack of awareness of God and His Creation is death to the spirit, death to the (wo)man, because God is about relationship and LOVE, which do not exist in the self-centred, hedonistic lifestyle, being all about self. For those committed to the hedonistic lifestyle, Love is a totally misunderstood concept in terms of !Corinthians 13, about patience, long-suffering, kindness, etc, ie not about oneself at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunilbernard Posted February 22, 2005 Report Share Posted February 22, 2005 Q1. (4:1-3) Is God against pleasure? What wrong in living to increase one's pleasure? No, he is not against pleasure. In fact, He want His children to enjoy life. That's why He created this beautiful world for us to enjoy and have pleasure. There are so many wonderful things that God created for us to enjoy. We can have all the pleasure under God's conditions. When we don't follow God's conditions and seek pleasure to fulfill our own hearts desire, then that hurts God. As the Psalmist puts it, His ways are not ours and His thoughts not ours. If we enjoy anything along with God, then that is pleasure for both. Living to increase our own pleasures will undoubtedly lead to sinful practices and sinning. These are against God's principles and He strongly condemns them. We'd better be careful how we live as ultimately it will decide where we will spend eternity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian Posted February 22, 2005 Report Share Posted February 22, 2005 No God is not against pleasure, He needs us to have a balance so that we do not live in any one extreme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHILIP_TAN Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 Q1. (4:1-3) Is God against pleasure? What wrong in living to increase one's pleasure? I doubt God is against pleasure per se. Indeed God created man according to His good pleasure, and all things in this world are created for man's pleasure. (see Genesis 1.26-28). That is to say for our enjoyment. But when Sin came, the world became corrupted and evil existed. The original pleasure that God intended for man was lost. **** took its place instead. More often, the pleasure we entertained today as mentioned in James 4.1-3 "come from your desires"(****). Therefore, to increase one's pleasure(self) displeases God as it is out of our own ****. The flesh cannot please God (Romans 8.5-9). Galations 5.16,17, also written by the Apostle Paul, clearly warns us of the conflicting dangers of "fulfilling the **** of the flesh(pleasures). If we are led by the Spirit, let us then "walk in the Spirit"(Galations 5.16). Hence, the pleasure that pleases our God will be good and clean fun! (Phillipians 4.8,9). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
June Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 No, God is not against pleasure. So long as He is in it with you and it is not self serving. When it is all about you and what you want, not considering others, then it is for personal pleasure and it is wrong. It must be centered around God's will for you and not your own. Usually, if you are living to increase your own pleasure----- God is not in it to begin with. It is your own selfish desires. You are not living to love others or God. You are pursuing what is evil and being selfish to attain personal pleasure. That's exactly what they are---- personal--- without God's input. God answers pray!!!! Take everything to Him and watch and wait for your answer and you will be amazed when the answer comes.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happysheep Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 God is not against pleasure. He is the creator who created us for His own pleasure, after all. The problem is in our definition of pleasure. When pleasure is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennLady01 Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 Q1. (4:1-3) Is God against pleasure? What wrong in living to increase one's pleasure? No God is not against us having pleasure he set things in order so we would do just that. He is the one that gave us sinces to know pleasure he is king and loving and wants what is best for us. We are not living to seek what is best for others only for ourselves. We put ourselves before others it is never good. We need to keep all things in the proper order that is Jesus first others second and then us. When we do this we will find that at times the greatest of pleasures is in serving others. Then we are blessed by God and he will see to all our desires and we will always have him first in our lives. Pursuit of personal happiness is selfishness, pure and simple. When we are more concerned our own personal happiness than we are todoing God's will then it is sin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candygoo58 Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 Q1. (4:1-3) Is God against pleasure? What wrong in living to increase one's pleasure? God is not against us have the things we enjoy in this life. His desire is to give us all we have need of and desire. But he is against us if we want something for selfish reasons. We need to see that it brings us plaesure when we do things that makes others happy. Makes us all feel good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DebChats Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 Q1. (4:1-3) Is God against pleasure? God is not against pleasure. God, Himself derives much pleasure in many things. God can be against what we might be directing our pleasure towards. If we direct our pleasure towards the things of God, God is not against our pleasure. What wrong in living to increase one's pleasure? Living solely to increase our own pleasures, is selfish and self-centered and detrimental to those around us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Reeves Posted February 24, 2005 Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 1. Is God against pleasure? The answer would be no. That is, if I'm seeking worldly pleasure such as fulfilling the desires of the flesh like, sex out of marriage, spending more time at gambling, going to sporting events, or anything that would take me away from doing the will of my Heavenly Father. Then, the answer is yes. God would not want me to commit Idolatry. Leaving His work to satisfy my desires would be a sin. 2. What wrong in living to increase one's pleasure? Sounds like selfishness. Whenever worldy pleasure comes before serving God, it becomes selfishness. (****, = sin) Those that are sold out to serving the Living God, gets pleasure fellowshiping with the brethren, telling others about the love of God and how He fulfills the lustful desires of this world. I use to get great pleasure from sporting events. Now that I'm saved, my greatest pleasure is doing the will of my Heavenly Father. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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