A Treasure Deeper Than Pleasure

It’s been a while since I wrote. I hope that this is not just an intermittent post, though, but that I soon begin to write regularly again. Still, since I have not been writing, this post will not follow the normal format, and it has nothing to do with today’s daily reading (I hope at least some of you are still reading through the Bible chronologically with me this year – I’m really enjoying it).

To start with, does anyone remember that little song in the Burl Ives-starring holiday classic, “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer”? The snowman/narrator starts to sing about silver and gold in that warm, contented voice of his, and during the song he croons, “How do you measure its worth? Just by the pleasure it gives.”

We measure the worth of most of our treasures by the pleasure they give, don’t we?

So it’s intriguing that James writes (in James 4:1-3) about desires and the pleasure of their fulfillment so negatively:

What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. (NLT)

Think about that last statement for a moment: you want only what will give you pleasure. Have you ever wanted anything that wouldn’t give you pleasure? Is that even possible?

James seems to think so. And I think we have some examples in today’s world of things we’ve wanted to do not so much for immediate pleasure as for the hope (not even always the guarantee) of great reward.

• Athletes want to push their bodies to the physical limit not so much for instantaneous pleasure, but because they hope that such discipline will one day result in competitive victory.

• Many people want to continue to attend school when it’s not required of them (e.g., college, grad school, etc.) because they hope that the not-always-so-pleasurable academic rigors will prepare them for more enjoyable, better-paying jobs.

So the next time you want something that you don’t already have, take the time to ask yourself whether what you want is just something to fulfill your desire for pleasure. If so, remember that there is a treasure deeper than pleasure—many such treasures, in fact. Sometimes I get more pleasure out of reading than out of having my reading interrupted by my three children, no matter how adorable they are. But where is my real treasure? In my personal reading time? Or in my children and the chance to help them learn to enjoy the life God’s given them?

There is a treasure deeper than pleasure, better than immediate gratification. Often, it’s a treasure we reject. But our good God longs to give us His true treasure—if only we’ll want it enough to ask.

For an overview of this year’s blog, please see http://threequartertank.blogspot.com/2011/01/why-do-believers-believe.html.

Living Here, Aiming There

ALL – Psalm 78:26-58
ALL – Proverbs 24:27
OT – Jeremiah 8:8-9:26
NT – Colossians 3:1-17

Interesting passage for the day: Since you became alive again, so to speak, when Christ arose from the dead, now set your sights on the rich treasures and joys of heaven where he sits beside God in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts; don’t spend your time worrying about things down here. – Colossians 3:1-2, The Living Bible

Thought: If heaven is supposed to fill our thoughts, are we supposed to despise life down here? Are we supposed to ignore the people we love, the places we cherish, the joys we experience? Are we supposed to pretend that nothing in the world is ugly, broken or painful? Is this world pointless?

No. It’s not. We live here. For now, we live here.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not arguing with Paul (or with the Holy Spirit, for that matter). I’m saying that I don’t think that “setting your sights on the rich treasures and joys of heaven” and not “spend[ing] your time worrying about things down here” means ignoring the world we live in.

I think it means experiencing this life more fully. Not “worrying about things down here” means allowing yourself to see this world’s brokenness more clearly than you ever have before. Life down here can be totally futile! No matter how often I make my bed, it gets messy again. No matter how hard I exercise, I sooner or later lose my strength. No matter how much I teach my children, they end up making their own mistakes. No matter how hard I work, my work’s never done. And sometimes life is just plain painful. Unfair. Bitterly disappointing. Other people are jerks. I am a jerk. We’re supposed to experience all this more fully because we know Jesus. We’re supposed to stop pretending that we don’t see how overwhelming life is, how much of a struggle relationships are, how awful it is even to exist in a place of sickness and selfishness. And when we stop living in denial, it is then that we need to stop worrying—not because the world gives us less to worry about (we’re seeing reasons to worry more clearly now, remember?). No, we stop worrying because we are calling out to Jesus, and we know that He’s going to take care of us.

Which brings us back to the good side of this life. I love sports, the outdoors, friends, smart phones, and good stories. And food. I love food. Am I supposed to pretend that I don’t? Absolutely not! Instead, because I now know that every good gift is from above (acc. to James), I am supposed to enjoy them MORE. I am supposed to overflow with wonder at how good some things in this life are. And as I’m awed by the speeds, tastes, sights, sounds, displays of intellect, joys and satisfactions of life on earth, I should be grateful to the God who gave them to me. And at the same time, the wonders of His good gifts down here should remind me that the God who can make this world seem like a great place to live must have something tremendous in store for me above, where there is no sorrow or pain. And so I “set [my] sights on the rich treasures and joys of heaven”—not just for myself, but for others, too. I set my sights on the wonders of heaven, even as I’m surrounded by the joys and pleasures God has given me down here, and urge myself not to be so stupid and selfish as to insist on enjoying life down here so much that I neglect to give my family and my friends and my neighbors the opportunity to know the joys I’m looking forward to with Jesus in heaven. I enjoy life down here more fully, but I crave it less. I’m looking forward to something better—way better, and I want others to get something better, too.

Question: How do you keep your mind on heaven when life down here feels like hell? Even harder, how do you set your gaze toward heaven when life down here feels like heaven already?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Free to Show Restraint

ALL – Psalm 25:1-11
ALL – Proverbs 20:13-15
OT – 2 Chronicles 30:1-31:21
NT – Romans 15:1-22

Interesting passage for the day: Let’s please the other fellow, not ourselves, and do what is for his good and thus build him up in the Lord. – Romans 15:2, The Living Bible

Thought: Have you ever been asked not to do a good thing? I mean, you’re having a great time and following Jesus with all your heart at the same time. And then someone gets offended for what seems to be no good reason, and they want you to stop whatever it is you’re doing.

Our tendency is to want to justify ourselves and keep going. Am I right? It’s irritating that anyone would want us to stop. Why stop having a good time when I’m not really hurting anyone? Sure, some moron’s offended, but he shouldn’t be—he’s just a moron!

When we adopt this attitude—when we justify ourselves, reject the “moron” and keep on doing whatever we were doing (because it’s a good thing to do, after all… there’s nothing wrong with it)—we forget and neglect the second greatest command of God: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” We show that we are more concerned with our own pleasures than with pleasing others. It’s not as though the people who get offended are asking us to do something sinful—usually they’re trying to avoid sin, right? So it really comes down to a question of love. Do I love this person enough to stop offending them (even if they’re wrong and a bit stupid)? Or do I love myself and my own way of enjoying life more than I love my neighbor? Our attitudes and behaviors reveal a lot. Love sets us free to accept restrictions—even when they’re pointless.

Question: What are some of the most irritating restrictions other people want for you? Could you respond more lovingly? How?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.