The believer’s every endeavour should be done for the Lord and not simply for men. All should be done to the glory of God even to the extent of what man eats and drinks (1 Corinthians 10:31). Before the believer considers changing appearance for the sake of beauty, he or she should ask whether or not this thing will bring glory to God. Before a believer marks his flesh with a tattoo, he should consider the words of His God (Leviticus 19:28). Before spending a great deal of money on one’s appearance, he should ask if God would rather the money be given elsewhere. Every aspect of man’s life is about pleasing the One who created him with and for a specific purpose (Revelation 4:11).
Learning that God is the creator in the person of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3:9, Colossians 1:16) should serve as one of the earliest of life’s lessons. Some people have used this truth of God as creator to suggest that He is accountable for their lustful desires, yet nothing could be further from the truth. Believers should continue to believe and proclaim that God created each person on purpose and for a purpose. Unfortunately, many people try to point to God as a prime excuse for the sin within their own hearts and lives. They point to some failure, sin, or lifestyle and say, “God made me this way.” God does make some people short and others tall. He makes some with blue eyes and some with green. He makes some male and some female. God made each individual with certain traits, yet the truth of who and what we are flows from the choices we have made, good and bad. One commonality amongst all of God’s creation concerns the need for the soul’s salvation. Instead of trying so hard to question God’s wisdom, believers should rather choose to serve Him to the best of their God-given abilities.
Increasingly, the world is driven by the desire for more perceived outward beauty. Some people have gone so far as to change everything concerning their appearance in hopes of turning out more beautiful than previously perceived. Beauty, however, is an area where God and man think quite differently. God sees beauty as a matter of the heart, while man thinks beauty involves the putting on of more makeup (2 Kings 9:30), or changing hair color or hair style, or having some cosmetic alteration done to the teeth or body. In the end, the Lord says that man’s idea of beauty is actually quite vain. While men praise outward beauty, the Lord says that “a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.”
Believers are not to speak, look, think, or act like the world. In every way possible, believers are to remain separate and distinct. Believers saved for any length of time have noticed the drastic shift in what the world defines as acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. For instance, man in general once disdained the idea of tattoos, body piercings, and cuttings in the flesh (Leviticus 19:28). Yet, now these things are not only acceptable but even practiced by believers. The world used to distinguish between men and women, even taking note of one’s hair length (1 Corinthians 11:14-15). Yet these distinctions have been blurred and in some cases eliminated with men attempting to become women and women men. The people of God are not to follow along with cultural shifts, but abide rather in the unchangeable words of God.
Far too few believers consider the extent that God cares about what they do in, to, and through their bodies. The reality is that the believer is to glorify God in his body. Today’s passage instructs the saint of God to present his body to God as a living sacrifice. Amazingly, the Bible describes this spiritual sacrifice not as some great spiritual achievement but as a mere reasonable service (Romans 12:1). All true fellowship, consecration, and sanctification originate within one’s heart; however, it eventually works its way out to be visibly seen. A believer deceives himself if he claims to walk with God in sweet communion yet experiences no outward changes visible to mankind. A yielded Christian ensures that no part of his life is off limits to the Lord. He strives to ensure his life, including his body, is a testimony bringing glory to His Saviour.
The means by which any individual seeks and finds pleasure exposes the condition of his heart. The Bible points to those who find pleasure in rioting, while others in backbiting or carnality, and yet others in selfish indulgences. At first, the individual tries to hide his carnal pleasures. As these things become more amusing to the carnal Christian, he begins to do them in the open, or as the scripture says, “in the day time.” All these things point to a cold heart toward the ways of God and a warming toward the things of the world. Yet, the people of God should find pleasure in spiritual things such as Bible reading, talking with the Lord, singing His praises, fellowshipping with like-minded believers, and witnessing to others of God’s goodness.
When true worship gets blended together with amusement, it yields varying types of worldliness and idolatry. In Exodus chapter 32, the children of Israel observed a “feast to the LORD” at the same time that they “rose up to play.” As men begin to grow increasingly cold and indifferent toward the Lord and His ways, they will seek ever more imaginative ways to make spiritual worship appeal to the flesh. This is often accomplished by uniting pleasure and worship. In an effort to keep people interested in the worship of God, churches add comedic relief, drama, carnal music, and a host of other worldly amusements. In doing so, the worship of God gets corrupted and becomes nothing more than idolatry or false worship.
Unsurprisingly, much of the world’s amusement seems to be driven by demeaning, mocking, or humiliating others. In other words, one man’s pain is another man’s pleasure. Samson had been a thorn in the flesh of the Philistines for quite some time, but now he was a sightless, weak prisoner. As the Philistines gathered to celebrate his capture and humiliation, they called for Samson so that they could take pleasure in his suffering. One would think that it takes a heartless people to find satisfaction in the humiliation of others, but unfortunately far too many people take pleasure in such events. Far too frequently, men receive the greatest satisfaction when others are abused for their enjoyment. This ought not so to be!
Men seek pleasures for various reasons, but sometimes they simply desire to escape sorrows and grief. In the days of Amos, the people were at ease in their “beds of ivory,” feasting upon “the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall,” listening with anticipation to their new “instruments of musick,” and indulging themselves by drinking “wine in bowls.” In other words, they pampered their flesh “with the chief ointments.” In the midst of all these pleasures, the people of God had no heart to grieve for others who were suffering. Similar to Israel, the church spends so much of its time seeking pleasure that it devotes no time to grieve for their fellow brethren in suffering.
Man views pleasure as offering some type of lasting joys; however, it generally delivers nothing more than a temporary happiness. More often, those who seek pleasures are left emptier than if they had never sought the pleasures in the first place. James’ understanding of this truth is reflected by his declaration: “Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton” (James 5:5). Paul joined the chorus when he admonished the widows: “she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth” (1 Timothy 5:6). Seeking and living in pleasure offers no lasting fulfillment. In John 4:13, the Lord said, “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again” and so it is with pleasure. Satisfaction, fulfillment, joy, and life only come through a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
