June 27, 2010
The difference between suffering and pleasure
American culture is a culture of pleasure. I think the phrase, “Do what you love” speaks to the (new generation) American ideal. However, the reality is that not all of what you love will profit you. A good example is that a lot of Americans love TV. While watching TV all day will feed your pleasure, it will not cause you to grow, mature, be useful, or be fulfilled.
Pleasure is versus fulfillment. This is because the more you feed your pleasure, the less pleasurable it is and the more empty it becomes. In actuality, fulfillment comes through suffering. The Christian life is all about fulfillment; small wonder then that suffering is a major topic in the bible.
First, Christ suffered to gain his church. Second, the believers must make up the afflictions of Christ to build up the church. Finally, the believers take up the cross to crucify their natural life – their love of their self – to follow Him.
The absolute seeking and fulfillment of pleasure eventually leads to vanity. You can have all the pleasure in the world, but the more pleasure you have and the more you seek to fulfill the temporary delights, the more empty you feel.
However, the absolute suffering for a purpose that doesn’t lead to something eternal leads to vanity as well. If you are suffering for something that doesn’t have lasting value, then that leads to emptiness.
In between the two there is the narrow path of God’s way.
Matt 7:14 Because narrow is the gate and constricted is the way that leads to life, and few are those who find it.
I used to love immediate pleasure, and I almost can’t believe I’m writing this post because my self a year ago would never have written something like this. I am a man that loves pleasure, and it takes a very, very strong force to break it.
As one who has often asked myself, “How can a person of no willpower will to develop some willpower?”, I can now finally answer this question: you don’t. God really has to do it for you.
It takes a lot to pull someone out of pleasure seeking. (In the P/J dichotomy, P stands for Pleasure) 
First, you need someone who you can rant at.
Second, you need a motivation.
For me, that motivation for me is love, which is the greatest irrational force in the universe. Falling in love makes you do crazy things, like putting away all your sillies and becoming responsible. And that’s only human love. God’s love is much stronger.
Third, you need a perfect arrangement of outward circumstances to perfect you and train you. That happens to be where I’m at – the Full Time Training. Its really a great place to be.
The American culture is one of convenience. Convenience is not a ‘bad thing’, but it’s a tool for pleasure to be so easily accessible. Everything you covet is 1 click away. The convenience itself does not lead to vanity, but the over-indulgence of pleasure does. Watch out for it.
