Simple Pleasures
It seems like an oxymoron for me to say I struggle with enjoying pleasure. I even looked up the definition--pleasure literally means a feeling of enjoyment. So how come when I’m doing something I’m supposed to enjoy, I sometimes feel guilty, unsatisfied, and anxious?
I finally hit an end where I was so stressed that my husband was worried about my health. Day after day I would try to relax and do something fun with him or by myself but he could tell my mind was elsewhere. I was fidgety and irritable. Later I came to realize that this was largely due to feeling guilty if, at any given moment, I wasn’t contributing to society or my spiritual growth, or being resourceful to save time or money for the future. However, instead of feeling socially important, spiritually fulfilled, or financially secure, I felt worried, angry, and tired.
Zac reminded me of a chapter in C.S. Lewis’s fictional book, Screwtape Letters, where a demon explains one of his most effective tricks in keeping people out of the presence of the Lord. The demon says to his mentee, “The man who truly and disinterestedly enjoys any one thing in the world, for its own sake, and without caring two-pence what other people say about it, is by that very fact forearmed against some of our subtlest modes of attack. You should always try to make the [man] abandon the people or food or books he really likes in favor of the ‘best’ people, the ‘right’ food, the ‘important’ books.”
That described my life perfectly. I couldn’t enjoy anything unless I felt it was the ‘best’ thing to be doing at that time. Needless to say, I rarely felt like I was doing the ‘best’ thing I could be doing. Therefore I rarely ‘disinterestedly’ enjoyed anything. That left me anxious, tired, and worst of all, vulnerable to the enemy’s temptations. Taking away pleasure is a subtle attack technique indeed. Here’s why: Instead of enjoying God’s blessing and giving Him praise for it, I was focused on paying penance, working for my right to have enjoyment. I had an appearance of godliness but denied its power (1 Timothy 3:5-7), thinking it was up to me and my strength to make a difference in this world, to grow spiritually, or to make myself financially secure. All that came straight from pride.
Here’s the thing. God created pleasure (James 1:17). He wants us to enjoy life (Psalm 16:11). When we enjoy the interests, passions, and talents God has given us, for their own sake, it brings glory to the Lord. However, when our pride entices us to use our passions for self-glory, or only pursue our passions when we feel like we’ve earned the right, it takes the glory from the Lord and makes us focus on ourselves.
So how do we enjoy pleasure guilt-free? I keep quoting it in 1 Corinthians 10:31: “Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” This cheese board was the first thing I made coming out of my guilt-ridden lifestyle that I truly enjoyed through and through. Even though it seems extravagant and maybe wasn’t the healthiest thing in the world, I praised God for the good food and creativity through every step of the process. I had been wanting to make a charcuterie board pretty much since I learned how to pronounce it. But I just never felt like it was a good use of my time or money. I feel so silly even writing that. I had SO MUCH FUN that the cost and time meant nothing to me! I didn’t skimp on the garnishes or taking my time with pictures and I’m so glad! Now I can look back on it for years to come, almost like a piece of art, and truly be proud of what the Lord gave me the ability to do!
Please don’t hear what I’m not saying. We shouldn’t over-indulge on any pleasure we want just because it’s something we enjoy. Over-emphasis on pleasure can be just as distracting from God as deprivation of pleasure. I would highly encourage you to listen to Ravi Zacharias’ sermon to understand the difference between legitimate pleasure and illegitimate pleasure.
I’m still a work in progress so I’ve had to constantly remind myself that it’s okay to have fun and not stress about doing the very best things at the very best times. With the help of my amazing husband, Zac, I’ve developed these two reminders that I hold on to when I’m tempted to turn pleasure into guilty pride:
Thank God--When I was making this cheese board, I was praising and thanking Jesus throughout the whole process, from shopping at the grocery store, to decorating the table with eucalyptus branches. (How cool is it that I live where I can just pick eucalyptus leaves right outside my front door?!) It’s hard to over-indulge or beat yourself up over pleasure when you are telling God how thankful you are for His gifts. This is why God created pleasure in the first place--so that we would thank Him!
Just do it--Instead of over-thinking things to try to do what’s ‘best’, I’ve started to take action when I get a fun idea and just do it. I find I’ve been able to enjoy doing lots of fun things like making coffee smoothies, going for walks, and making avocado ice cream, things I probably wouldn’t have done before because I would have run out of time from over-thinking it too long. If you’re already a spontaneous, distracted person, maybe this isn’t the best advice for you, but if you’re an over-thinker like me, stop it and just do it!
I pray that if you struggle to enjoy simple pleasures, you will recognize that God designed you to like the things you like, and it brings Him joy when you do the things that bring you joy. Be blessed and have fun. And enjoy these pictures for those of you who like cheese and crackers as much as I do!
Here are all the elements, from left to right, top to bottom: homemade sourdough, peach honey, apple butter, pepperoni, Gouda, cream cheese, port wine cheese, homemade sauerkraut, cherry butter, and smoked salmon. Not shown: carrots, broccolini, and hummus.