Speak Unto Us Smooth Things

“And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” (Exodus 20:18-19).

Unfortunately, this is an all too common scene that is played out today. The congregation has removed itself from the Pastor who preaches the all too often unpleasant news of the word of God. They run to the church that preaches nothing but good and pleasant things. The congregation wants a preacher that will, “Speak unto us smooth things” (Isaiah 30:10b).

Preaching nothing but good news of and for man, the next and final step for this sinful congregation is to have lies preached, believed, and held has doctrine.

“This is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord…prophesy deceits….Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.” (Isaiah 30:9, 10b, 11)

In their fear of death, they unintentionally secure their death.

The problem is the lack of delayed gratification. They have a present need to feed the pleasure side of self while avoiding any pain. The temporal and temporary aspects of life are being secured and protected. Morality, truth, and life itself are being determined by what feels good now. People of the pleasure principle will agree with, adhere to, follow and even worship whomever or whatever will justify their beliefs and actions. Life, regardless of how short and limited it becomes, is founded and lived solely on the pleasure principle.

“Back in 300 BC, Aristotle saw that the reason so many people were unhappy was that they confused pleasure for true happiness. True happiness, according to Aristotle, is about developing habits and surrounding yourself with people who grow your soul. This allows you to move towards your greatest potential. True happiness entails delaying pleasure, putting in the time, discipline, and patience instead of feeling good now. A life of purpose, aligned with the seeking of true happiness, creates real joy. It keeps your happiness meter pretty steady throughout your life. So, which path would you like to take?”

(Ilene Strauss Cohen Ph.D./Psychology Today/Dec. 26, 2017)

The pleasure principle has no tomorrow, only today. It recognizes no consequence or retribution. Self is the priority, focal point and the center of the universe. People of the pleasure principle are quite literally babies. They cry for every need to be taken care of, will do whatever is most pleasurable. And like a newborn baby, the people of the pleasure principle must be taken care of, for they are too entrenched in fulfilling their wants to be bothered with their needs.

The epitome of sin is self. The people of the pleasure principle consume, they don’t produce, and they take but do not give, they lust but do not love.

God is the exact opposite. He is righteousness. He is love. God’s love would sacrifice self for the preservation of another. Jesus Christ is the living and dying and living again proof of love and placing another over self.

Pleasure in of itself is not necessarily a sin. Pleasure as the focal point, the foundation, and purpose of life make it an idol, which is a sin.

Sin kills. It will reign in your mortal body and cause you to obey the lusts thereof. No man can control sin, only serve it. This is why we must yield ourselves to God.

“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” (Romans 6:16-18)

Not sinning and doing good things does not equate to righteousness and eternal life. There is nothing we can do to merit heaven. We are not under the law, but rather under God’s grace. We can’t earn grace, it is a gift that is given by God.

“For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.” (Ezekiel 18:32).

Turn away from the pleasure principle and return to God.

The Old Testament definition of repent is “Shuv”. It literally means to turn or to return. In the New Testament repent can be “Metanoeo” which means to change one’s mind, or repent could be the word, “Nacham” which is to be sorry and regretful.

To have God as the center of our life we must do all three meanings of repent. We must turn away from sin and turn back to God. This turn is actually a return back to our original status and relationship with God. This can only come about with a change of heart and head and to be genuinely remorseful for our past way of life and misgivings.

God has no pleasure in the death of any of us, saint or sinner. God has asked us all to return to Him.

It is to our advantage and for the security of our life to sit in the pew of the church with the preacher that preaches the word of God, all of the word of God. It will hurt. Jesus warned us of the trials and tribulations in this life. But please understand, it isn’t about this life. This life is barely the period at the end of the sentence at the end of the book called life. What is a millisecond compared to eternity?

But it is in this life that determines our eternity. Won’t you choose life and live?

Bill Hitchcock