Gary Thomas: Bringing Pleasure Back to Christianity
"Pleasure" is a word you hear a lot in sermons and lessons. Unfortunately, most of the time the use of the word is associated primarily with sin. Best-selling author Gary Thomas is out to change that. His latest book, Pure Pleasure, looks at what the Bible has to say about the topic and draws some interesting conclusions. New Man talked with Thomas last week about the way he sees the pleasures of life—from food to music to sex—as being God's gifts to us. New Man: Obviously pleasure is a fun topic from a physical perspective, but how has a deeper understanding of pleasure affected your spiritual life?
Thomas: I've noticed that a true understanding of pleasure has been a big help in confronting sin and temptation. When I live with an empty soul and a spiritual thirst, I'm far more susceptible to temptation. When I'm taking care of the things that God has provided for my joy and pleasure, I'm less tempted by things that should be repugnant to me.
And it's not just easier to deal with the major, more scandalous sins. A true understanding of pleasure has made me more patient, more loving and less critical. It has created a lifestyle of worship, gratitude and love. I'm no longer going into a rage because this car can't get out of the way or the other checkout line is moving faster. When I'm drinking deeply of the good things of this earth that God has provided, I have more of a Christ-like spirit.
We're getting so religious in our definition of pleasure. A lot of times I feel that, as a Christian, I should only find pleasure in prayer, meditation or Bible study. I was concerned about where this attitude might take me, so I talked to J.I. Packer, who has been a mentor for me, and asked him if my heart was in the right place. He confirmed my thoughts, and gave me a great quote, which is in the book. He said, "Contempt for pleasure, far from being superior spiritually, is actually a sin of pride." I think I've seen that in others. Please understand, spiritual disciplines such as Bible study and prayer are a big help to me, but I'm not going to be insecure about my participation in those activities.
New Man: The subtitle of your book is Why Christians Feel So Bad About Feeling Good. Why do we? Thomas: We tend to focus on God as a redeemer and not as a creator. God created this world for us, and He gave us things for our pleasure. When I observe a good meal, that's God's creation. He created taste buds for our pleasure. The whole concept of music is a part of God's design. Let's say I plug in my iPod and the perfect song comes on to match my mood. The old, religious me would stop and ask if this song is good for either uplifting me spiritually or converting someone. Now I just say: "Thank you God. You're an amazing God and You hit it out of the ballpark with this music thing." This attitude has given me a new appreciation for God as creator. I'm continually reminded of all His goodness and kindness to me.
The other answer to the question is that, theologically, we're suspicious of pleasure. It's interesting that when I was studying for this book, I noticed in the Old Testament that the translators of the NIV would use the word "pleasure" when something had a negative connotation and "joy" when it had a positive one. But it's the same word in the original language. We have this bent where we say pleasure is something that only the devil is behind.
I think that comes from the fact that we have to learn to enjoy the earth without loving the world. There are some stark verses in the Bible about not loving the world, and so Christians often don't want to go near it. But John says that God so loved the world that He gave His son for us. There's a difference between the things of this earth and the things of this world. In Genesis, God created the world and He called it "good."
But ever since the fall, we have been living in a world of polluted pleasures, pleasures apart from the redeeming touch of God. Our pleasures now can become addictive and sinful. Because we often fall victim to the sinful side of pleasures, we tend to throw out the baby with the bathwater and denounce the entire thing. We don't have to do that. We can enjoy food without gluttony. We can enjoy drink without drunkenness. We can enjoy sexual intimacy without adultery. We can enjoy recreation in a life marked by service, sacrifice and denial.
As Christians, we tend to not be very sophisticated in our thinking, and just swing from pendulum to pendulum on issues. There have been ages of the church that swung too far on the pleasure issue. Right now it seems like we're anti-art, -sex, -music and -recreation. I think we can reclaim those things because they can renew our worship and fortify us against temptation.
New Man: It seems like this view of pleasure would also be more attractive to non-Christians.
Thomas: The challenge is that trying to enjoy pleasure without the presence of God is like trying to enjoy the ocean without a boat. Because the enjoyment of pleasure is so intense, without a redeemed heart, you won't get it. You can't stumble into sexual purity. You can't stumble into a biblical view of feasting and fasting. Without God, that just becomes overindulgence and regret. Non-Christians probably have been burned by pleasure at points in their lives. So we need to say to them, "Let me introduce you to the God who created these things and shows us how to embrace pleasure without being ruined by it." New Man: One of the big struggles a lot of men have is dealing with time. Should men with stretched schedules and lots of responsibilities purposefully take time out for a little godly pleasure for themselves?
New Man: One of the big struggles a lot of men have is dealing with time. Should men with stretched schedules and lots of responsibilities purposefully take time out for a little godly pleasure for themselves?
Thomas: I think our lives are written in chapters. You have different areas of responsibility in different areas of life. I am friends with a young guy who was doing well financially and used to enjoy golfing every weekend. Now he has toddlers, and since they (and his wife) need him, he thinks that at this point it's not responsible of him to be away from them golfing on the weekends. Instead he finds pleasure in spending time with his family. Maybe later in life he'll have the time to golf more, or maybe he will take his kids along so they can share in that pleasure together as a family.
I think there are other times in life where you might be under a lot of stress, and so you do need a little time for yourself. This can be healthy if done responsibly. For me, I love running, and even though it might take an hour out of my day, it's a pleasure I can enjoy well.
New Man: The other pleasure most guys struggle with is sex. How does this line of thinking relate to our sex lives?
Thomas: We have to learn to embrace the good things of life in ways that honor God. Pornography is a huge issue. Often men will feel guilty for talking to their wives and saying, "What we have going isn't really working for me." Now, guys can live without a good sex life for a while. If your wife is sick or pregnant or whatever, then you have to deal with it. But if you're living for years or months and months without that, you're going to become susceptible to things like pornography. Some guys think building sexual intimacy is too hard or a waste. But we can create time for this. Instead of falling into an immoral sexual experience, be proactive and look ahead to building a satisfying sexual life so you won't be tempted as much.
That's why we have to bring God into it, so we can preserve that pleasure instead of having it become a trigger point to sin. If God can't be a part of a certain pleasure in my life, then I don't want it.
To download a free e-book version of Pure Pleasure, visit garythomas.com.
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