Counterfeiting pleasure

It began with pleasure, in the Garden. And with pleasure Paul notes that it will end. It all goes back to pleasure. In the beginning, "When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate..." Genesis 3:6 After the serpent doubted God with Eve and then told her she would certainly not die, the seeds were planted, and suddenly, Eve's new eyes saw fruit that was "delightful to look at" and "desirable."

"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be ... lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power." 2 Tim 3:1-5

Satan is capable of perverting anything. CS Lewis makes the point in The Screwtape Letters. In Letter Nine, Screwtape addresses Wormwood on the subject of counterfeit pleasure.

"Never forget that when we are dealing with any pleasure in its healthy and normal and satisfying form, we are, in a sense, on the Enemy’s ground. I know we have won many a soul through pleasure. All the same, it is His invention, not ours. He made the pleasures, yet all our research has not enabled us to produce even one. All we can do is to encourage humans to take the pleasures which our Enemy has produced and indulge them in ways which He has forbidden. We always try to work away from the natural condition of any pleasure to that in which it is least natural, least mindful of its Maker, and least pleasurable. An ever-increasing craving for an ever-diminishing pleasure is the formula. It is more certain; and it’s better style."

Recovering drug addicts report needing more frequent highs and note that the highs increasingly diminish in duration. Same with alcoholics. As the body becomes inured to the pleasure of the drink, it takes more and more to achieve the same result. Same with casual sex. The amount of pleasure inverts to the frequency, as noted in the albeit fictional account to Wormwood when Screwtape notes "An ever-increasing craving for an ever-diminishing pleasure is the formula." I believe any person would note that in counterfeit pleasure, the formula works.

But therein lies the nugget to be pondered today: this formula is precisely HOW to determine if your pleasure is counterfeit and therefore of satan, rather than a true pleasure from God. True pleasure sent from God will fill a person and only increase as the seeker partakes. Serving? Reading the bible? Prayer? Sexual union with a loving married partner? True pleasures.

This conundrum is nothing new of course. Solomon undertook a great experiment, outlined in Eccelsiastes 2 in which he pursued pleasure. Some was folly and some was worthy, but even the worthy pleasurable pursuits came to nothing because they were an end to themselves.

Counterfeit pleasure is an end to itself. Its formula of diminishing returns is a circling the drain proposition. Jesus told us that he who lives for this life, including its pleasures, will be greatly disappointed (Matthew 6:19). The things of this life are transient and temporary, including pleasure. Our focus should be on maximizing our glory in heaven, not our life on earth. One sure way to know if the pleasure you are feeling in an activity or desire is if they are a byproduct of the search for the righteousness of God.