He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich. Proverbs 21:17 (AMPC)
In and of itself pleasure isn’t evil and likewise enjoying pleasure isn’t wicked.
It’s the worshipful devotion to pleasure that’s detestable and destructive.
Just as money isn’t evil but the love or worship of money is the root of evil so it is with pleasure. At God’s right hand there are pleasures evermore. Psalms 16:11.
So there’s godly pleasure and it’s righteous because it’s found at God’s right hand of righteousness. But there’s also ungodly pleasure called in Scripture the fleeting or short-lived pleasures of sin. Hebrews 11:25 (NLT)
Lovers of pleasure are worshippers and slaves of pleasure. Their life runs on the dictates of “if it feels and looks good then it’s right so just do it”
Lovers of pleasure are also driven by “what I want can’t be put off to later, I must have it right away, right now”.
Esau was a lover of pleasure. He traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. Scripture warns us that none of us should be immoral or godless like Esau. Hebrews 12:16 (NLT). None of us should be lovers of pleasure.
All work and no play makes jack a dull boy but on the flip side all play and no work makes jack a dirt-poor boy. You can’t be given overly to just eating, drinking and socializing all the time. In doing that you’re spending, you’re using up time, energy and resources. Soon enough you’ll find you’re left with nothing just like one young man in the Bible who squandered his wealth in wild living. Luke 15:13 (NIV)
There’s a time for relaxing; giving yourself, family and friends a grand treat; recreation; making merry; enjoying the finer things of life but it shouldn’t be a lifestyle. Chilling should follow and be peripheral to work and welfare. Entertainment should come after and be scheduled around enterprise. The only pleasure you should be addicted to is the pleasure of fulfilled godly purposes.