Contrary to what we might expect, the Bible addresses pleasure possibly far more than it does the issue of pain. Solomon\u2019s wrestling with the futility of pleasure is recorded in Ecclesiastes. He lamented:<\/p>\n
I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven
\n during the few days of their lives.<\/p>\n
I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no
\n pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the
\n reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands
\n had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was
\n meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing, was gained under
\n the sun.<\/p>\n
Does it not surprise you that after years of experimenting and indulging, Solomon said it amounted to nothing?<\/p>\n
Solomon\u2019s was not just a harem-filled world of sensuality; he was an artistic genius who penned thousands of proverbs and songs. We miscast him if we forget that he had an immense creative capacity.<\/p>\n
Sustaining Solomon\u2019s very thought, psychologists Frank Minirth and Paul Meier say this:<\/p>\n
[We] are convinced that many people do choose happiness but still
\n do not obtain it. The reason for this is that even though they
\n choose to be happy, they seek for inner peace and joy in the
\n wrong places. They seek for joy in sexual prowess but end up
\n with fleeting pleasures and bitter long-term disappointments.
\n They seek inner fulfillment by obtaining positions of power….
\n but they remain unfulfilled. I have had millionaire businessmen
\n come to my office and tell me they have big houses, yachts…
\n nice children, a beautiful mistress, an unsuspecting wife, secure
\n corporate positions — and suicidal tendencies. They have
\n everything this world has to offer except one thing — inner
\n peace and joy. They come to my office as a last resort, begging
\n me to help them conquer the urge to kill themselves.<\/p>\n
This is a difficult fact to accept when one has not lived it. Yet this ought to cause us to stop and take note of the fact that where unbridled pleasure abounds there is greater need to find life\u2019s overarching purpose.<\/p>\n
It is purpose that is prior and pleasure that must be in keeping. And let us be sure that if the purpose is wrong, then pleasure gets wrongheaded too. That is why, we must remember, meaninglessness does not come from being weary of pain; meaninglessness comes from being weary of pleasure. Have you determined life\u2019s purpose yet? God offers that purpose, and pleasure must not violate that purpose.<\/p>\n
_________________________<\/p>\n
Copyright \u00a9 2002 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. “A Slice of Infinity” is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Contrary to what we might expect, the Bible addresses pleasure possibly far more than it does the issue of pain. Solomon\u2019s wrestling with the futility of pleasure is recorded in Ecclesiastes. He lamented: I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives. I denied […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1403,326,1112,3946,3339,2858],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7295"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7295\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}