What's a Hedonist and how can I get in on it?

The dictionary describes hedonist as "a person who believes that the pursuit of pleasure is the most important thing in life; a pleasure-seeker.

"She was living the life of a committed hedonist."

Ancient books or catechisms on Christianity instruct us that "the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

Prominent Christian author John Piper, in Desiring God, questions the word and. Are we to glorify God sometimes and enjoy God sometimes?

Throughout his book he convincingly persuades us that glorifying God--tapping into His indescribably joyful existence and presence--provides the ultimate in our enjoyment, thus, we can be Christian Hedonists.

How do you think you get pleasure? I'm convinced, through the writings of many Christian scholars and my own experience, that there is no greater pleasure than that of glorifying God and participating in all His glorious activities, such as giving to and serving others.

Christian hedonism is a philosophy of life built on the following five convictions:

1.     The longing to be happy is a universal human experience, and it is good, not sinful.

2.     We should never try to deny or resist our longing to be happy, as though it were a bad impulse. Instead, we should seek to intensify this longing and nourish it with whatever will provide the deepest and most enduring satisfaction.

3.     The deepest and most enduring happiness is found only in God. Not from God, but in God.

4.     The happiness we find in God reaches its consummation when it is shared with others in the manifold ways of love*.

5.     To the extent that we try to abandon the pursuit of our own pleasure, we fail to honor God and love people. Or, to put it positively: the pursuit of pleasure is a necessary part of all worship and virtue. That is: The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying him forever.

*I should say something important here about love Languages other than English can better describe different kinds of love, and the Bible describes the highest forms of love. Unfortunately, most of us do not read the languages the Bible was written in, which describe three kinds:

·       Philos means warm affection or friendship. ...

·       Agapē is the sacrificial, unconditional love of (by and to) God.

·       Eros refers to physical or sexual love. The word eros was commonly used in the Greek-speaking world of New Testament times.

Jesus commands us: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul 
and with all your strength and with all your mind, 
and your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27

 

Wow!!! That’s a mouthful. How do you and I do that?
Two concepts I found helpful:
--Love is an action word. And,
--An African American pastor taught me that most of the time the word love is found in the Bible, it means commitment. Yes! I can commit fully to Jesus, without reservation. And you can, too, because the Holy spirit will help us.

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