1. Pleasure: Joy, mirth, gladness; a state of happiness, with a focus on sensory input to the body which gives entertainment to the senses.

a. The term is quite the same as our English word for pleasure.

b. In some contexts it can have a positive connotation, (mothers get great pleasure from their kids) and in other contexts a negative connotation (My boss seems to get pleasure out of seeing people suffer.)

2. The positive side of pleasure.

a. God does not expect us to live the life without any pleasure. That is wrong concept of holiness.

b. Godliness is not the same as being a Stoic.
• The term Stoic originally referred to a member of an ancient Greek school of philosophy that asserted that happiness can only be achieved by accepting life’s ups and downs as the products of unalterable destiny. The school was founded around 308 B.C. by Zeno.
• A Stoic came to mean somebody who is unemotional, especially somebody who shows patience and endurance during adversity.
• This is not part of the Christian world view.

c. God is not opposed to pleasure.
• II Tim. 6:17 – God has richly given us all things to enjoy.
• Ps. 104:27 – These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. 28That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.”
• Ecc. 5:18-19 – God gives us the fruit of our labors to enjoy.
• There is a need for pleasure, and there is a place in life for pleasure.
• We need a day off during the week. We need to get away on a vacation every once in a while.
• God made parts of ordinary life pleasurable: food; relaxation; the physical relationship; hobbies; sports; entertainment.
• There is a need for pleasure in all of our lives.
• It is good for body, soul, and spirit.
• Pleasure is good in its place.

3. The negative side of pleasure.

a. But in this proverb, Solomon isn’t speaking about the positive, healthy side of pleasure.

b. Solomon is writing about the spiritually unhealthy side of pleasure.

c. Like so many things in life, a good thing can be taken too far.

d. Solomon is not speaking about a man who experiences pleasure from time to time, when appropriate.

e. Solomon is speaking about a hedonist: one who lives for pleasure. One who loves pleasure.

f. Pleasure is his goal in life… “Life’s a beach” is his motto.

4. Loving pleasure.

a. Pleasure is not a bad thing.

b. However, the LOVE of pleasure is.

c. Money is not a bad thing either, but the LOVE of money is the root of all kinds of evil.

5. Love: To have affection for; to be attracted to; to have a desire for; to have a preference for one thing over another…

a. Pleasure is fine in its place. But it ought NOT to have the place of preeminence in our lives.

b. Pleasure is fine in its place, but we should not LOVE it… in the sense of being dedicated to seeking it.

c. Col. 3:1-3 – Our affections are to be set on things above, not on the things of earth.

d. The things of earth may be USED by God’s people, but they ought not to be ABUSED.

e. I John 2:15 – We are not to LOVE the world or the things of the world. We are to love God with ALL of our heart.

f. II Tim.3:4 – Love can mean to have a preference for one thing over another. Paul writes of those who are lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.

g. Pleasure is fine in its place, but it CAN (if we allow it) take the place of a god in our lives. It can have the preeminence, which belongs to Christ alone.

h. That’s where pleasure becomes sinful. It’s not a line we can accurately draw for others, but it is a line we can accurately draw for ourselves… because of the indwelling Holy Spirit. He lets us know when enough is enough.

6. Solomon himself knew something about the dark side of seeking for pleasure.

a. Solomon dedicated a portion of his life to seeking pleasure.

b. He did so as a philosophical experiment, to see if pleasure was really worth it… if it was all it was cracked up to be… what it produced… if it was in fact worth pursuing.

c. And as an extremely wealthy king, he was ABLE to carry this experiment out to the fullest.

d. Ecc. 2:1-2 – Solomon put “living for pleasure” to the test and concluded that a life dedicated to the pursuit of pleasure is vanity and madness!
• Vanity: Meaninglessness emptiness; futility; uselessness.
• Mad: Insanity
• It is an empty, worthless pursuit.
• It doesn’t satisfy the soul.
• It doesn’t accomplish anything of lasting value. (What doeth it?)
• It can be a colossal waste of time and money.

e. It seems that half the world is engaged in that same experiment… seeking to satisfy the soul with pleasure, only to discover as Solomon did, that all is vanity!

f. There really is no need to keep on repeating that test. The test has already been made, and the conclusion has already been arrived at.

g. We would do well to BELIEVE God’s Word on this point, rather than waste a portion of our lives on the same empty pursuit.

7. In Prov.21:17, Solomon concludes that the man who pursues pleasure will end up POOR.

a. The end of that road is poverty… the poor house.

b. The lusts of sensuality are extremely expensive… for they are never satisfied, but constantly require more and more… bigger and better…

c. One commentator named Wilmington reworded the thrust of this proverb in a cute little rhyme: “Love pleasure, lose your treasure.”

d. The prodigal son learned this lesson the hard way. He didn’t want to work on his father’s farm. He wanted his inheritance NOW so that he could seek out pleasure. He wasted his substance with riotous living and ended up poor: eating with the swine!