The Fleeting Pleasures of Sin
The Siren Call of the World
The world is full of enticements that would draw our hearts away from God. Whether it is a desire for wealth, or success, or beauty, or good health, or security, or longevity of life, or notoriety among men, etc.—each of these allurements, in its own peculiar way, come to us with promises of pleasure, peace, and prosperity. In many ways, the things of this world come to us offering to be a better god with better benefits, if only we will turn from Christ to serve and worship them.
Not one of us is insusceptible to this pull. Nor can anyone claim they have never put the things of this world above and before the Lord Jesus Christ. There are many reasons that we fall prey to the siren call of the world, but I want to draw your attention to two in particular.
1. First, we fall into this temptation because we listen to the lies of Satan.
Like the Devil himself, worldly enticements come to us masquerading as angels of light, when, in fact, they are portals to destruction. They come to us with persuasive lies that hold just enough plausibility to our fallen thinking that we bite down hard on the juicy worm which they offer, and get taken by the sinister hook hidden beneath.
These plausible and persuasive lies will look a little bit different depending on the particular temptation we are trying to justify. Nevertheless, they typically present themselves in a manner that goes something like this:
Money: God knows that both you and your family need money to live. Furthermore, he has called you to love and serve your family by being a strong provider for them. Therefore, pursuing financial security is godly, important, and part of being wise.
Success: Being a hard worker is exactly what the Bible teaches. It tells us that “whatever we do” we are to “work heartily,” (Col. 3:23). Therefore, your devotion to your career is commendable, and sets a good example for others to follow.
Health: God has called us to be stewards of our bodies for his glory. That means that prioritizing my exercise and diet are part of a holy life.
Notoriety: As Christians, we are called to reach as many people as we can. What better way can I do that than by rising to the top of my field where I will have a bigger platform and greater influence?
Do you notice how subtle these temptations are (Gen. 3:1-7)? There is truth woven into each of them, and even godly principles. Yet, when these truths and godly principles are applied in a way that makes money, success, health, notoriety, or anything else more important than devotion to God—we have been deceived into a path of worldliness. And because this deception usually happens very subtly, and progresses incrementally over time, it is easy to keep convincing ourselves that we are still walking with God, even though many years may have gone by since we veered off the narrow path and placed the idols of the world on the throne of our heart.
As Jesus once said, “No one can serve two masters…” (Matt. 6:24). We cannot live for money, success, health, notoriety, pleasure, comfort, ease, etc. and at the same time, truly live for Christ. As good and helpful as these things may be, they are worldly enticements which we must reject whenever they attempt to take the place of God in our heart or become the defining influence in our life.
2. Second, we fall into this temptation because we look to fleeting things as our measure, rather than to eternal things.
When you look around in the world, it is not hard to find unbelievers who are living in luxury and ease, enjoying peaceful days of plentiful earthly success. In fact, there are many people who admittedly hate God, don’t acknowledge his existence, or who have invented false gods of their own making, who are presently enjoying a desirable earthly life.
If we have a wrong perspective on the present prosperity of the wicked, it can easily make us susceptible to start believing the lie that a life of sacrificial devotion to God isn’t really necessary—and perhaps, isn’t really worth it. We can begin to fall into the trap of thinking, “Perhaps, having a little bit of Jesus is a very good thing—just enough to keep us from going to Hell. But having too much of Jesus doesn’t really seem advantageous because then we will miss out on many of the pleasures of this world.” Haven’t you felt this temptation in your soul? Haven’t you been tempted to believe that full devotion to God will lead you to an unhappy and unfulfilled life? Hasn’t the whisper come into your heart that full devotion to God will some how make you come up short and miss out?
As a result of giving into this kind of thinking, many people begin to drift into varying degrees of worldliness. The author of Psalm 73 was among such persons. There was a time in his life when his faith in God was seriously challenged because he felt that his life of devotion to God was difficult and hard, but that other people who lived in worldliness and unbelief enjoyed pleasure and ease. There is no denying the presence of this reality in our world today. And it certainly does make you wonder, doesn’t it? Is this life of devotion to God rather than devotion to the things of this world really worth it?
Asaph said in Psalm 73:2 that when he was looking at life through this deceptive perspective “[his] feet had almost stumbled,” and “[his] steps had nearly slipped.” In other words, he felt like his faith was hanging on by a thread that was about to break. He was envious of the indulgent and carefree lifestyles of the unbelieving. He too, wanted to taste of the temporal satisfactions of those who make idols out of the things of this world. But later in the same Psalm, Asaph tells us what rescued him from wandering away from God into the deceitful allure of the world, and it was this:
“But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end,” (Psalm 73:16-17).
Much sweet spiritual milk could be drawn from these verses, but for now notice only this: It was not “until” Asaph took his eyes off of the world and placed them back upon God that he began to return to a right perspective about the very best life he could live.
You see, the problem for Asaph is the same problem which we often face. Asaph was judging the value of godliness vs. worldliness only by what he could see in the present. He was only considering the fleeting pleasures of sin which God often allows the wicked to presently enjoy for a time. But when he went into the sanctuary of God, and set his mind upon the truth of God’s Word, it was then that Asaph’s eyes were lifted up from the present state of things to the everlasting state of things which is soon to come.
It was when Asaph “discerned their end”—or the future outcome of their present decision to love the world rather than God—that he was sobered from the deceitful allure of worldliness. When he considered where the life they had chosen in the present would ultimately lead them in eternity, he was delivered from the deception which had been threatening to lead him astray. It was then that he recognized afresh that whatever struggles or losses he must face in this present life as a follower of Christ, they are not to be compared with the everlasting joys which shall be his in eternity with God.
The fleeting pleasures of sin are only preferable to those who forget the reality of eternity, and therefore forsake God.
“The Exulting of the Wicked Is Short”
Asaph was not the first believer to recognize these precious, soul-strengthening truths. In fact, Job’s friend Zophar spoke something very similar many hundreds of years prior. And the truth of his words still has a ministry for our own souls today.
4 “Do you not know this from of old,
since man was placed on earth,
5 that the exulting of the wicked is short,
and the joy of the godless but for a moment?
6 Though his height mount up to the heavens,
and his head reach to the clouds,
7 he will perish forever like his own dung;
those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
8 He will fly away like a dream and not be found;
he will be chased away like a vision of the night,” (Job 20:4-8).
The pleasures of sin are fleeting, beloved. But the Treasure of heaven is everlasting. Therefore, let us let go of all worldly goods and devote ourselves wholly to God, both now, and forevermore, (Heb. 10:32-26).