The Bible is not anti-pleasure or anti-fun. Some early church fathers called the actually taught this, in large part in reaction to the hedonism of Rome. (1 Tim. 6:17; Pr. 17:22)

That is an overreaction, going from one extreme to the other, an opposite extreme that is just as .

God placed within us the for pleasure.

The enemy, in his war against our heart, is seeking to seize on this desire and deceive us into believing that a life of pursuing pleasure in and of itself will the desires of our heart.

We are a culture, a people, who are far more “ ” in our daily lives than we tend to admit.

Pleasure when pursued as an end in itself is .

Never in the history of the world have so many people had so much access to so much and found so little satisfaction.

Our hearts are .

True joy is the fruit of and God. (Eccl. 12:13)

We are meant to God through the joys of what God has created.

But when the created becomes the focus instead of the Creator, that which was meant to give us joy turns to .

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are . Psalm 16:11