“Lovers of pleasure”

The apostle Paul told Timothy that perilous times were coming. “For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than loving God,” (II Tim. 3:2-4).

Such people were described as “having a form of godliness but denying its power” (verse 5).  How can a person retain a “form of godliness” if they love pleasure rather than God? This situation is where someone will serve God as long as that service does not conflict with anything else they like.

Keep in mind that these pleasures are not inherently sinful. These pleasures might just being things that are fun, exciting or thrilling – sports, playing games with friends, going to concerts, etc. The issue is that these people become more passionate about their fun than they are about God and thus only have a form of godliness.

Faithful Christians love the Lord and do not just want to appear godly – they want a genuine relationship with Him. From an eternal perspective, sacrificing our relationship with God in exchange for a little more time spent playing sports, going fishing, visiting friends, etc. makes no sense!  We should not see God as the ultimate fishing buddy – we should our relationship with Him as something far greater than any earthly pleasure. If we put Him first, there will be no conflict between loving God and earthly activities.   

In closing, consider this illustration. A married man is leaving work, but his friends try coax him to spend time with them at the bar under the pretense of “working late”. A man with a strong love for his wife will not hesitate to choose her every time because there is no comparison between the choices. And so it is with God’s people. His faithful children will seek true godliness and reject having just a form of godliness every time.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Chuck