Life according to the pleasure principle

Hedonism is a view of life that sees life fulfillment in pleasurable and joyful enjoyment. In simplified terms, everything is subordinated to the pleasure principle. In this contribution I start from the popular understanding of a hedonism: One’s own enjoyment is at the center. A hedonist, by virtue of his inner orientation, is always self-centered.

A hedonist lives for pleasure, which he wants to experience himself. Surely there is something good to be gained from this. Who wants to suffer? A hedonist does not strive for something that others do not want. Everybody wants it. Everyone wants a life without suffering, without stress, without loss, without illness or death. The difference is that a hedonist sees the entire purpose of life exclusively in enjoyment and subordinates everything to this enjoyment – what promises more enjoyment has priority.

Not “what” a hedonist wants, but “how” he wants it can quickly become a problem within relationships, education and work, or community. Living according to the pleasure principle is not real. How do you bring more reference to reality into the game?

The prayer of Jabez

In the biblical account, the story of Jabez is noteworthy. He simply asks God that he be blessed and that he experience neither evil nor pain. “And God let come what he asked,” it was then said soberly.

“Jabez was more respected than his brothers; indeed his mother had given him the name Jabez, for she said, With pain have I born him. But Jabez had cried unto the God of Israel, saying, That thou wouldest bless me, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand would be with me, and that thou wouldest keep away evil from me, that no pain should befall me. And God let come what he had asked.”
1 Chr 4:9-10

Was Jabez a hedonist? Hardly. He did what any of us might have done. He prayed a simple prayer to God and all problems were solved. Nowhere else in the Bible do we read of a similar prayer. What are we to make of this? Thereby little is surprising: Such a simple life is no longer interesting in the Bible.

The Bible is thoroughly sober in its consideration. Even though Jabez was promptly blessed after a short prayer, the daily reality is usually different. This has already been presented in more detail in the article “Spiritual Blessing”. The Bible devotes an entire book to the suffering of Job, but only three verses to the “perfect” life of Jabez.

Our reality of life is probably closer to that of Job than to that of Jabez. Life for most people is much more complex than what Jabez experiences. Sufferings are not faded out in the Bible, but difficult situations are faded in again and again. Hedonism is a worldview that is transverse to most people’s life experience. There is no promise that we will be spared from all suffering. On the contrary, we are completely embedded in this world. Faith is not a “method” to escape suffering.

Persevere

The reality of life does not allow us to always put pleasure first. There are situations that need time, even if the “wait” means effort. In this context, the word “persevere” (Gr. hupomonê) is used in the New Testament. Etymology traces the word to the two elements “under” and “remain”. You can think of a burden that you carry, and you remain under that burden. One does not run away, but perseveres.

A hedonist might discard a burden because it is unpleasant. Others, however, persevere. They remain under the burden and continue to carry it because they see meaning in it. Perseverance is not pleasant, but those who are patient can achieve things of greater value as a result. Job is the example par excellence:

“Of Job’s perseverance you have heard, and have seen the conclusion of the Lord, since the Lord is full of inward compassion and pity.”
Jas 5:11

Paul writes from his life experience:

“We may boast even in tribulations, knowing that tribulation causes perseverance, but perseverance causes probation, but probation causes expectation. But expectation does not let us be put to shame, because the love of God is poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us.”
Rom 5:3-5

Perseverance brings probation and probation promotes confident expectation. This gives life content and direction. In Job, we see that God worked and responded only in time. There was no instant gratification of pleasure. A life fulfillment came later. Even if Job did not experience this immediately, the book (in which we read the whole story) speaks of this confidence that all suffering will one day be set right by God. So and similarly we read elsewhere about this perseverance (2Cor 1:6; 2Th 1:4; 2Tim 3:10 and others).

When time matters

The time aspect is an important component. We can wait with perseverance for something that is still in the future:

“… For it was upon this expectation that we were saved. But expectation that is glimpsed is not expectation; for what someone glimpses – does he still expect it? But if we expect what we do not behold, we wait for it with perseverance.”
Rom 8:24-25

Perseverance is also endurance. For example, Paul speaks of perseverance in good works (Rom 2:7). Perseverance is also a quality of faith. Paul prays for the Colossians that they “may grow in the knowledge of God, and be strengthened with all might according to the power of His glory, unto all endurance and patience, with joy” (Col. 1:11).

The same “hupomonê” is also used in the sense of perseverance when Paul testifies of the Thessalonians, “Unceasingly we remember before our God and Father your labor in faith, your labor in love, and your perseverance in waiting for our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Th 1:3). With this Paul points out that here on earth we also live in expectation of our Lord. There are still things ahead of us that we don’t have yet. There is the relationship with Him that has not been fulfilled in every way so far. So Paul writes in other words in Ephesians:

“In Him also are you who hear the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation – in Him also are you who believe, sealed with the Spirit of promise, the holy one (which is a deposit of our lot until the redemption of the one assigned to us) to the praise of His glory.”
Eph 1:13-14

We are sealed with the spirit of promise. Thanks to this sealing, the promise is certain. But we are still waiting for the fulfillment. And some things we have to expect with perseverance. To persevere can be a deep spiritual attitude if God’s work is expected in it. Perseverance is the opposite of quick pleasure gratification because something better is expected. Therefore, in certain situations, we can stop under the load. This is not masochism, but realism.

Perseverance is the opposite of quick pleasure gratification because something better is expected.

It is not suffering that is glorified, but in the reality of this world we expect God’s intervention at the right time. Perseverance is also not passivity, as if one is just watching idly, but it is the conscious rethinking towards God’s activity, whereby the world appears in a different light. This causes us to actively stand in the world differently, now positive, forward-looking, actively acting.

Perseverance is also a sign of human and spiritual maturity – when we can assess whether it is good and healthy to persevere a little longer in a situation.

Approval of the writings

The Bible contains a treasure of promises. These can shape our lives. To the Romans Paul writes:

“For all that was written aforetime was written especially for our instruction, that we through perseverance and through the promise of the scriptures might have confidence.”
Rom 15:4-5

If we combine our perseverance with the encouragement we gain from the scriptures, it gives us a lot of confidence. Now this is the goal of perseverance. Those who persevere direct their lives toward something greater, and are not distracted by immediate experiences.