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Christian Hedonism: The Pathway to True Happiness by John Piper(1) Edited by Massimo Lorenzini A "Christian Hedonist" sounds like a contradiction, doesn't it? "All men seek happiness," says Blaise Pascal. "This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves." I believe Pascal is right. And, with Pascal, I believe God purposefully designed us to pursue happiness. Does seeking your own happiness sound self-centered? Aren't Christians supposed to seek God, not their own pleasure? To answer this question we need to understand a crucial truth about pleasure-seeking (hedonism): we value most what we delight in most. Pleasure is not God's competitor, idols are. Pleasure is simply a gauge that measures how valuable someone or something is to us. Pleasure is the measure of our treasure. If I come home with a bunch of a dozen red roses, my wife swings open the front door, sees the flowers, flings her arms around me and says: "Darling thank you so much they are wonderful, you shouldn't have". Would I as a husband respond: "Well, that's the kind of thing a husband should do, it is my duty". Immediately a response like that would deflate the event and would be crass. But if I respond as a loving husband would, "My darling I love you and I can think of nothing I want more than to do this. It is my pleasure to give you flowers!" She is not going to turn to me and say "You egotist, it isn't about you!" Rather, my delight in doing this dignifies the act, and such pleasure-seeking devotion is a greater indication of love than an unmoved fulfilment of duty. We know this intuitively. If a friend says to you, "I really enjoy being with you," you wouldn't accuse him of being self-centered. Why? Because your friend's delight in you is the evidence that you have great value in his heart. In fact, you'd be dishonored if he didn't experience any pleasure in your friendship. The same is true of God. If God is the source of our greatest delight then God is our most precious treasure; which makes us radically God-centered and not self-centered. And if we treasure God most, we glorify Him most. God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. Does the Bible teach this? Yes. Nowhere in the Bible does God condemn people for longing to be happy. People are condemned for forsaking God and seeking their happiness elsewhere. For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns--broken cisterns that can hold no water (Jeremiah 2:13, NKJV). What two things are the people accused of doing? 1 - Forsaking God. 2 - Creating broken cisterns. Why does God refer to Himself as a spring of living water? Because He alone is the source of life and true satisfaction. Why does God refer to the things the people have pursued as broken cisterns? (A cistern is an underground water tank). Because anything we turn to other than God for life and satisfaction will prove to fail us. Forsaking God and pursuing happiness elsewhere is the essence of sin. Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4). What is commanded in this verse? To delight ourselves in the Lord, to find our happiness and joy in the Lord. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Mattew 6:19-21). Why does Jesus teach us to love God more than money? Jesus teaches us to love God more than money because our heart is where our treasure is. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:8). What does Paul wants us to believe that is worth the loss of everything else? Paul wants us to believe that gaining Christ is worth the loss of everything else. Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-2). Why does the author of Hebrews exhort us to endure suffering like Jesus did? The author of Hebrews exhorts us to endure suffering, like Jesus, for the joy set before us. Christian Hedonism is not a contradiction after all. It is desiring the vast, ocean-deep pleasures of God more than the mud-puddle pleasures of wealth, power or lust. We're Christian Hedonists because we believe Psalm 16:11, "You show me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy, in Your right hand are pleasures for evermore." End notes: 1. For more on Christian Hedonism, see John Piper's book Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist or visit Piper's web site at www.desiringGOD.org.

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