Jesus Among Secular GodsSample

Hedonism

Hedonism is the view that life is all about happiness or pleasure. Imagine there were a machine that would give you any experience you desired (maybe before long there will be!). You could choose to experience winning Olympic gold, falling in love, or making a great scientific discovery, and the neurons in your brain would be stimulated in such a way that you would experience a simulation of actually doing these things. Although in reality you would be floating in a tank of goo with electrodes hooked up to your brain, you would be experiencing total pleasure.

Happiness and pleasure are good things, but when we make happiness and pleasure the highest forms of good, we risk missing out on the best God has for us. All pleasure comes at a cost. For the right kind of pleasure, we pay for it before we have enjoyed it. For the wrong kind of pleasure, we pay for it after we have enjoyed it. 

The temptation of hedonism is also a problem in the church. Sometimes we settle for far less than God has for us. Imagine that a young boy traveled for twenty-seven hours through flight delays to get to Disney World. After finally arriving in Florida, he looked at the revolving baggage-claim carousel, which to him looked like a ride, and exclaimed, “Thanks, Dad! I love Disney World!” True and lasting pleasure is not rooted in this world, but in the God who stands above it. In him we find pleasures forevermore.