Isaiah 48:8
“Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children:”
One of the causes of Babylon’s destruction is that they were given to pleasures, which caused them to become careless in living. Babylon had conquered the world of their day, and they did whatever they wanted to do. However, it was their propensity to live for whatever pleased them that led to their carelessness, which became the cause of their destruction.
Nobody has lived a life for pleasure who hasn’t become careless with their actions to their destruction. Samson lived for pleasures and became careless about how he lived, only to find that careless living led to sin’s bondage. You are no different from Samson; you cannot live for pleasures without becoming careless about what brings pleasure. It is the focus of doing what pleases you that leads to your carelessness, which will result in your eventual destruction. Many have fallen in sin because they became careless with safeguards instead of carefully keeping those safeguards in place. Let me point out several principles about living for pleasure.
First, success does not give you the right to do what you want to do. Success is dangerous because it can make you feel that you can do whatever you want to do. Just because you are successful does not give you the right to live a careless life of doing whatever pleases you. Always remember that success is not a license to do anything you please.
Second, you always live for pleasure before you become careless with safeguards that protect you from sin. When pleasure becomes your focus for action, carelessness of safeguards will always be ignored to your destruction. Doing right won’t always be pleasurable, but it always gives a pleasurable and blessed future.
Third, there is nothing wrong with pleasures as long as you don’t live for them. Pleasure in themselves are not a sin, but living for them is a sin. You are to live for God and not for pleasure. If you only do what gives you gratification, you will find yourself doing things you should never do. Your focus for living ought to be to do God’s will for your life whether or not it brings you pleasure. You will find that doing God’s will is what brings the biggest pleasure without heartache when you get older.
Fourth, sin is a step away when pleasures become your focus for living. Samson never saw the sin that was entangling his life because he was wrapped up in living for pleasure. When pleasure becomes your focus for living, you will not care about what you have to do to find pleasure.
Fifth, careless living ought to be the alert that you are living for pleasures. When you become careless about life is when you need to stop and refocus your life on living for God’s will. When you don't care what others think about you doing what YOU want to do is when you should be concerned about your focus for living.
If you don't want to become another tragedy in the Christian life, be careful about living for pleasures. Stay focused on doing God’s will for your life and living for God, and you will avoid the tragedy that living for pleasure causes.
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