Want to start an internet debate with your fellow Christians? Simple. Just tell someone that something they want to do is wrong. Tell them that some part of their appearance, entertainment, worship, or general lifestyle is wrong, and you're certain to get a visceral response as hordes of hedonists ignore plain mandates from Scripture in order to protect their personal pleasures.
Let's be honest. We all have a tendency to defend the things we really want to do. We humans have this innate ability to rationalize behaviors that, if we were to view them objectively, would be obviously inconsistent with a profession of Christianity. The truth is that we are all hedonists from birth. Our depraved natures are regenerated at the time of our conversion, but remnants of the old man (or flesh, if you prefer) are left over. Hedonism is one of those subconscious attitudes we struggle with as we seek to become more Christlike. It's almost uncanny. We will judge (whether verbally or mentally) our brother for doing something, then we'll do something as equally wrong and see absolutely no contradiction.
Complicating our struggle with hedonism is the ever-increasing tolerance of sin in our culture and in the Church. This is probably universal. Regardless of when and where you're reading this, it is probably true for your era and culture. Moral standards rarely gradually increase. You might have a sudden improvement, say, when a different regime takes place or if a major revival occurs, but moral standards, generally speaking, steadily decline. This presents three issues for the Christian struggling with hedonistic tendencies. Firstly, it makes it easier to rationalize behavior because "everyone else is doing it," as they say. Secondly, it produces a fear of appearing prudish as everyone else around you abandons themselves to licentiousness. Thirdly, it makes it far more difficult to discern Biblical mandates from cultural applications thereof.
So how do we combat this tendency? Paul offers us some assistance in 1 Corinthians 10:31. He says, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." Similarly, in Colossians 3:17 he says, "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Ethical gray areas are nothing new, so Paul gives us a couple of timeless operational principles here. Firstly, he tells us that our ultimate goal in life ought to be bringing glory to our Creator and Lord. As the answer to the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism states, "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever." Every thought, word, and deed should be submitted to the glory of God. Secondly, Paul tells us that our behavior is (or ought to be) an expression of gratitude towards God. The Christian ethic recognizes simultaneously the dangers of legalism (trying to earn God's favor) and license (thinking God's favor frees you from the duty to obey). Understanding what God has done for us and living out of appreciation for that is the Biblical cure for both of these errors.
We must remember that no man can read another man's heart. Actions are often a good indicator of the heart, but they are not infallible (nor are the people viewing them). Instead, we must each examine ourselves (with the help of Christian brethren and leaders) when ethical questions present themselves to us. Earlier in 1 Corinthians 10 Paul says that all things are allowable, but not all things are helpful (he is certainly not stating that all things are morally acceptable; the context is meat sacrificed to idols). What he means is that even those things that are allowable are often not the best choice. What is our motive? Are we seeking our own pleasure, glory, gain, etc. or are we seeking God's glory and the good of our neighbor (1 Corinthians 10:24). When you're rationalizing why your behavior or choices are acceptable, step back and take a look at what your motivation is. Are you trying to glorify God or are you trying to do what you want to do?
Why are you posting that status or comment? Why do you wear your hair that way? Why do you have that tattoo? Why are you watching that movie or listening to that song? How do you pick the clothes that you wear? How do you decide how and where you spend your time day in and day out?These principles (glory and gratitude) provide a metric to determine the morality of your actions. I know that many of my choices badly fail to meet God's standards when measured this way. Let's go a step further. Why are you donating money to that charity? Why are you preaching or serving as an elder in your church? Each individual action may be morally justifiable, commendable even, in a vacuum, but errant motivations will render even the best actions sinful nonetheless. The heart is what God really desires (1 Samuel 13:14). We're not talking about nit-picking every second of every day out of fear of losing God's favor. We're talking about striving to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience to our Savior (2 Corinthians 10:5). The desire of every Christian should be to respond to the Gospel with a life that expresses our appreciation for who God is and what He has done for us through Christ (Romans 12:1).
So next time you're not sure what to do, or next time your conscience is nagging at you, examine your motives? Ask yourself in and how you are seeking to glorify God and to show gratitude to Him for His work in your life? The answer is usually much simpler than we like to admit.
Let's be honest. We all have a tendency to defend the things we really want to do. We humans have this innate ability to rationalize behaviors that, if we were to view them objectively, would be obviously inconsistent with a profession of Christianity. The truth is that we are all hedonists from birth. Our depraved natures are regenerated at the time of our conversion, but remnants of the old man (or flesh, if you prefer) are left over. Hedonism is one of those subconscious attitudes we struggle with as we seek to become more Christlike. It's almost uncanny. We will judge (whether verbally or mentally) our brother for doing something, then we'll do something as equally wrong and see absolutely no contradiction.
Complicating our struggle with hedonism is the ever-increasing tolerance of sin in our culture and in the Church. This is probably universal. Regardless of when and where you're reading this, it is probably true for your era and culture. Moral standards rarely gradually increase. You might have a sudden improvement, say, when a different regime takes place or if a major revival occurs, but moral standards, generally speaking, steadily decline. This presents three issues for the Christian struggling with hedonistic tendencies. Firstly, it makes it easier to rationalize behavior because "everyone else is doing it," as they say. Secondly, it produces a fear of appearing prudish as everyone else around you abandons themselves to licentiousness. Thirdly, it makes it far more difficult to discern Biblical mandates from cultural applications thereof.
So how do we combat this tendency? Paul offers us some assistance in 1 Corinthians 10:31. He says, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." Similarly, in Colossians 3:17 he says, "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Ethical gray areas are nothing new, so Paul gives us a couple of timeless operational principles here. Firstly, he tells us that our ultimate goal in life ought to be bringing glory to our Creator and Lord. As the answer to the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism states, "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever." Every thought, word, and deed should be submitted to the glory of God. Secondly, Paul tells us that our behavior is (or ought to be) an expression of gratitude towards God. The Christian ethic recognizes simultaneously the dangers of legalism (trying to earn God's favor) and license (thinking God's favor frees you from the duty to obey). Understanding what God has done for us and living out of appreciation for that is the Biblical cure for both of these errors.
We must remember that no man can read another man's heart. Actions are often a good indicator of the heart, but they are not infallible (nor are the people viewing them). Instead, we must each examine ourselves (with the help of Christian brethren and leaders) when ethical questions present themselves to us. Earlier in 1 Corinthians 10 Paul says that all things are allowable, but not all things are helpful (he is certainly not stating that all things are morally acceptable; the context is meat sacrificed to idols). What he means is that even those things that are allowable are often not the best choice. What is our motive? Are we seeking our own pleasure, glory, gain, etc. or are we seeking God's glory and the good of our neighbor (1 Corinthians 10:24). When you're rationalizing why your behavior or choices are acceptable, step back and take a look at what your motivation is. Are you trying to glorify God or are you trying to do what you want to do?
Why are you posting that status or comment? Why do you wear your hair that way? Why do you have that tattoo? Why are you watching that movie or listening to that song? How do you pick the clothes that you wear? How do you decide how and where you spend your time day in and day out?These principles (glory and gratitude) provide a metric to determine the morality of your actions. I know that many of my choices badly fail to meet God's standards when measured this way. Let's go a step further. Why are you donating money to that charity? Why are you preaching or serving as an elder in your church? Each individual action may be morally justifiable, commendable even, in a vacuum, but errant motivations will render even the best actions sinful nonetheless. The heart is what God really desires (1 Samuel 13:14). We're not talking about nit-picking every second of every day out of fear of losing God's favor. We're talking about striving to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience to our Savior (2 Corinthians 10:5). The desire of every Christian should be to respond to the Gospel with a life that expresses our appreciation for who God is and what He has done for us through Christ (Romans 12:1).
So next time you're not sure what to do, or next time your conscience is nagging at you, examine your motives? Ask yourself in and how you are seeking to glorify God and to show gratitude to Him for His work in your life? The answer is usually much simpler than we like to admit.
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