The Meaning of Pleasure
Today's Three-minute Bible Study
Print, Study and Apply
Title: The Meaning of
Pleasure --------------------------- Date: 2/7/2000
Keywords:
"pleasure" "meaningless"
Welcome
to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual
temptation.
Passage: Ecclesiastes 2:1-2*
1. I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with
pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless.
2. "Laughter," I said, "is foolish. And what does
pleasure accomplish?"
Questions
1. Why does the preacher reject pleasure?
2. Does his reason apply to the pleasure we may derive from Web
porn?
Practical help
Welcome to one of the wildest books in the Bible -- aside from the
provocative Song of Songs. Many commentators think Solomon wrote both books. He obviously
had some range
In this book the preacher pursues every fantasy we might want --
pleasure, money, power -- and rolls double sixes. When he writes, "It's all
meaningless," he speaks from personal experience.
Consider pleasure. The preacher gives it a thumbs-down because
pleasure accomplishes nothing. Porn addicts could agree with him on this point. How many
of us feel like kings of the world after we've ogled an eyeful of smut?
The preacher waits until the end of the book to give the bottom
line: "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man"
(Ecclesiastes 12:13). It's conventional advice. But how often do we heed it?
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*Scriptures are from The Holy Bible: New International Version © Copyright 1973,
1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved.