Proverbs 20

Alright, let’s start today’s blog with a pop quiz. It’s been a while since we studied Psalm 16. Do you remember this verse? “You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy. In Your right hand, there are _________ _________.” (Ps 16:11) Can you fill in the blank without looking it up?

If you said pleasures forever, you’re correct! I still remember the first time that verse “dawned on me” as an adult. I don’t know about you, but even though I grew up with a very positive picture of God, I still wouldn’t have equated Him with everlasting pleasure! (I mean, pleasure is sinful, right? Something we should try to avoid?) Obviously not!

In fact, that’s one of the lies Satan has sold to us—that sin is somehow pleasurable. We need to “unlearn” this lie! Solomon must have thought so, too: “Food gained by fraud tastes sweet, but one ends up with a mouth full of gravel.” (vs 17) Gravel… yuck! Even the thought of having a mouth full of gravel makes me squirm. What a great word picture to describe the insidiousness of sin. Sin may appear to start out pleasurably, but it doesn’t take very long for the luster to wear off, and then we see sin for the ugly thing it truly is.

It may seem like a good idea to use evil to “get ahead,” but it will always come back to bite you in the end. What seems sweet will quickly sour. What seems secure will quickly fall apart. What seems good will quickly turn bad. Everything pleasurable you thought you would gain by using evil methods will disintegrate into pain, suffering, and guilt.

In comparison, God’s ways lead to pleasure that lasts forever. When we commit ourselves to using His methods of love and goodness, the pleasure we find won’t be pleasure that lasts for a moment and is then replaced by bitterness and anxiety. We may look around at those who have “enriched” themselves at the expense of others and think we are “missing out,” but the truth is, what we are building for ourselves is something that can never be torn apart.

What’s more, God’s ways lead not only to pleasure, but to pleasant surprises as well. With Him, what we thought was sour will turn sweet. What we thought was shaky will prove to be secure. What we thought was bad will turn out for the good.

God gives pleasure that lasts forever. If you don’t want all your sweet food to turn to gravel in your mouth, commit yourself to doing things His way!