1 Timothy 5:6 "But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth."
There seems to be a cause and effect here: living for pleasure is a zombie-like existence! In this age zombies are in vogue. Most people love movies and television shows about the walking dead, but that's for their entertainment. They get pleasure from the surreal.
However, zombies are fiction (except for a few case in the Bible):
Matthew 27:51 (KJV) "And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; 52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."
Yes, with God all things are possible, but 1 Timothy 5:6 refers not to a physical condition, but a spiritual one! Those who never repent and accept Christ as savior will die spiritually:
Romans 8:12 "Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."
Those who live for pleasure are spiritual zombies. I see them every day! Most people are spiritual zombies. Most people live for pleasure. Those zombies walk the path most taken:
Matthew 7:13 "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction..."
Therefore, those who live for pleasure are as zombies walking through a wide gate; that gate is eternal or spiritual death! We are all mortal and will die, but we have a choice with spiritual death. We can live for pleasure and die, or live righteously and have eternal life. Our ability to make a "choice" is God's grace and that grace is qualified by one condition: a walk of faith in Jesus Christ and belief in his propitiatory death on the cross.
Those who accept eternal spiritual life through Christ must cease to live for pleasure. They are to endeavor to be as sin-free as possible. Pleasure is in reality the satisfaction of the senses: taste, smell, hear, touch and see. Some add a sixth sense. Christians would add "conscience" as one. However, all the proven senses involve pleasure! It is pleasure to taste a fine wine or eat some Epicurean delight; to enjoy the aroma of a fine flower; to delight in the sound of the rain on a tin roof; to comprehend the caress of the flesh or to see the beauty of the green hills or the sight of a pleasing smile. However, good that can be sensed, all those senses are capable of evil. It's how we use those senses and what is our priorities. Admiring the beauty of the human body isn't sinful; it's the lust that erupts that is!
"Abuse of pleasure" is the problem. God gave us pleasure. He created our senses to enjoy what he has created. All our senses serve purposes. Senses are for learning, safety, acquiring wisdom, avoiding obstacles, guiding forth and pure enjoyment; among many others! God did a great job in giving us the ability to have pleasure. What's the problem then? It's living for pleasure! A person can't live for God and live for pleasure because by doing that the person has created an idol. Pleasure is the god or goddess of "Self". Having other gods before Him is sinful!
You say "I still worship God!" Take a close look at The First Commandment:
Exodus 20:3 "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."
"Before me" means "besides me"! The Jews never had a problem worshiping God. Their problem was having other gods besides the One True God! Those gods were whatever pleasured them.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "Idolatry not only refers to false pagan worship. Man commits idolatry whenever he honours and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods, or demons (for example satanism), power, pleasure, race,ancestors, the state, money etc." There are many Bible passages supporting this definition and most Protestant's concur: living for pleasure is a personal idol!
Now back to the feeling of "sorrow". To be forgiven there needs to be a reason to seek it! We must have sinned. Basically, all sin is summed up by one word "pleasure". Original sin was to be "as gods". That's pride! Pride is a pleasure. It's not one that we outwardly sense, but that's where the sixth sense comes in: conscience. Our conscience can either guide us or mislead us. The conscious is the source of man's free will. It processes thoughts by evaluating the desirability of allowing the body to act on that thought or reject it. Beauty turns into lust by the conscience allowing the body to act on the thought.
Here's what's happening: Swimsuit model is spotted on the beach. The eye sees the image of beauty and passes it to the brain. So far so good! The girl so far is part of the scenery. She's an object within ones vision. The brain stores the image(s). The conscience retrieves the image and says "What shall I do with this information?" The conscience looks at the minimum of two obvious choices: 1) Enjoy her beauty and proceed with no further ado, or 2) think lascivious thoughts about her. The former is benign and normal. The latter causes the body to react physically as well as for the mind to get feedback: "It's okay to dwell on her as a sexual object".
Without God we humans tend to move directly to wrong choices. People dwell on the sexual component of vision. When we do we have pleasure. Natural man's goal in life is to provide pleasure to self! We do this well. Choice number 1 is elected when a Christian is "checked" by the Holy Spirit. He's our comforter! We don't have to reject submission to pleasure totally by ourselves. The Holy Spirit aids us if we cooperate by self-control.
Controlling the "self" is putting that idol in it's place!
1 Corinthians 10:13 "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."
Seeing the swimsuit model in a bikini is not a sin. She is a temptation placed there by Satan to cause you to sin. He knows that "Pleasure" was your god and that pleasure is to appease self. As a Christian, you have put away the "Self" as an idol and to deny self is to avoid the temptation to pleasure oneself!
The conscience of the sinner is seldomly seared, but sometimes God's Spirit calls. Jesus knocks at the door where the idol "Self" resides. Self cant deny Christ entry or ask Him to come in! We only get so many chances. Pleasure stands at the door and holds his hand over the self such that self is blinded by what the world has to offer. When a person is dragged down and tired of the false pleasure offered by the world, the Spirit is willing. He calls! The conscience becomes convinced that there is more to life than pleasure and seeks inner piece. The other senses relent to the sense of conscience and our eyes are finally opened to truth and our ears now hear what God says!
With the realization that we have been living for pleasure (self), and that God promises so much more with eternal life (mercy), we are put in our place. We realize that we have wronged the One who loves us most! We feel sorrow for our sin! That's a crucial step to salvation for without sorrow why should we be forgiven? I think now of my own life:
My Dad was a godly hard working man who did his best to provide for our family of seven. He always struggled and seldom had more than a few dollars in his wallet at a time. He loved us so! Dad always placed the children and his wife over his own desires. Before he ate, he made sure his children were fed. We were clothed before he was. He was a perfect model of a father!
On a few occasions I sneaked into his bedroom while he was sleeping after he had worked long hours on second shift. I would secretly, in the darkened bedroom, find his trousers and take money from his wallet. I did this even though Dad saved his change for me without asking. That's grace!
When I was older I thought about my theft. It's likely that Dad had only the money I took! As a result Dad likely had to do without lunch the next shift at work. He probably worked hungry. He surely was questioning why one of his children would betray him! As I thought about my disrespect for the father who loved me, I felt sorrow. I hurt inside for what I'd done! That's my sense of conscience listening to the call of God's Spirit. I repented of my sin! What was my sin? I fed my god. I gave pleasure to "Self". God's Spirit ministered to me and I sought forgiveness!
Question: Without the sorrow I felt would I seek forgiveness. Emphatically "No"! Sorrow is a pre-requisite for seeking forgiveness and without sorrow forgiveness is only a farce!
2 Corinthians 7:9 "Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. 10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death."
Many aren't truly saved because they didn't repent. Feeling no remorse, they went straight from belief to acceptance. They weren't saved because they weren't forgiven. Since they had no sorrow, their repentance is in vain and forgiveness eluded them! Why are there so many Christians living for pleasure? They were deceived in their desire to be rewarded by eternal life. Satan's goal is not that you should abandon God, but that you cling to other gods besides Him. That undermines God and Satan, knowing he will lose the battle, contents himself in denigrating God. While some profess Christ with their tongue they continue to worship "Self" by succumbing to and living for pleasure!
Who needs to examine themselves? Me, you and all! Are you lustful? Are you a liar? Are you a thief? Are you a drunkard? A partier? Vain? Gossiper? Slanderer? Unloving? Homosexual? Fornicator? If you're a Christian and hang onto these "pleasures", then self-examination is in order! Are you still worshiping an idol? Is "Self" being lavished? Or does God rightfully take precedence over self? Repentance may be in order, but sorrow must precede repentance!
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