Chasing After Good Things Just Might Get the Best of You

What is the value of a good night's sleep? or a delicious meal with friends? Don't you just love a refreshing dip in the pool on a hot summer day or hot chocolate by the fire after a few hours on the slopes? What would life be without the panacea of music, or the marriage of ice crystals and light in winter's sunrise, or the fragrance of flowers, or the warm embrace of a friend? Think of all the things we enjoy in this life. Would they be possible without the love of our Heavenly Father?

Ellyn Sanna, in her devotional Everyday Grace, writes:

Hedonists are people who have decided that life's only meaning lies in physical pleasures. But they can't escape God's hand. Our food, our drink, the satisfaction we take in our work, and all the physical pleasures of our lives are not separate from God. Instead, they are expressions of His grace. He longs for us to be fulfilled in every way possible.

The tragedy of a hedonistic life or a life that denies the lordship of the One True God, is those who choose such a life will be fulfilled in the same earthly, temporal ways as those who choose a life in Christ (maybe even more so). However, they will be convinced it is enough. They will believe the things they enjoy in this life are life itself. They will believe the enjoyment of those things is all there is. What they will fail to understand is those things are, as Sanna says, "expressions of His grace." Blessings cannot be separated from God because they are physical manifestations of His character. The good things of this life are meant to turn our heads and our hearts toward Heaven.

All of nature demonstrates His creativity and, Scripture tells us, sings His praises! The joy of marriage is a picture of Christ's relationship with His bride, the Church. The rainbow is a sign of God's integrity. Flavor can serve to remind us of the goodness of our Heavenly Father. The peace of a snow-covered city, the patience of a wonderful teacher, the love of a mother for her child, the kindness of a stranger, the faithfulness of your oldest friend, the self-control of a father as he takes his small son fishing --all of these are God displaying His character in people, places and circumstances around us. Not characteristics He is attempting to walk out, mind you, but characteristics that define who He is. The pleasure we experience in these things is not part and parcel of living in this world or being human. It is not owed to us. It should never be the treasure we seek. It is God revealing His character to us that we might recognize Him, that we might be grateful, that we might turn to Him and desire to give Him more of ourselves. 

Matthew 6:1-5, 16-18 warns against seeking after the admiration of those around us, saying we get what we seek but nothing more. In the remainder of the chapter, God, through Matthew, reminds us the things of this world are temporary, fleeting, but God is a trustworthy provider, giving us the things we need most and the rewards that last forever. 

Those who seek after pleasure but refuse to seek after God may get the good things they're chasing, and wouldn't that be the greatest curse?