AESTHETICISM - FINDING VALUE ONLY IN THINGS PLEASING TO THE SENSES
How many once faithful Christians have fallen prey to this sinful attitude? Many live by mottos such as: “If it feels good do it”, “Drink Sprite because it tastes good”, or the beer commercial “Tastes Great, Less Filling.” Our society is obsessed with feeling good, looking good, sounding good, smelling good, and having things that taste good. Sometimes the church is the same way, churches hire preachers that sound good and don’t pay attention to what they are teaching. Christian young people date attractive non-Christians and even marry them without paying attention to what disastrous consequences may come as a result.
As Christians, we must realize that there are limits on these things. We must at some point “deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus”. It may not look good to be lugging around a huge cross, and it certainly won’t feel good, but if we want to please God rather than men we must. If Adam and Eve had been able to resist the temptation of aestheticism, we might be in the garden yet. Think about how Eve was tempted. Moses wrote this concerning it, (Gen 3:5-6) “’ For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.’ {6} And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” Look at the aestheticism there: looked good, would taste good, would make her smarter (i.e. sounds good). God wants us to enjoy life, but he doesn’t want us to be indulgent. There are some things that may please the senses and not be wrong under certain circumstances while excessive or improper involvement would be wrong. For example: sexual intercourse is both pleasurable and pleasing to God inside the marriage relationship, but it is sinful outside the parameters set by God. Paul tells us that God’s grace was sent for the purpose of “teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;” (Titus 2:12)
Don’t compromise with the world by excusing and rationalizing the selfish and fleshly sins of aestheticism.
How many once faithful Christians have fallen prey to this sinful attitude? Many live by mottos such as: “If it feels good do it”, “Drink Sprite because it tastes good”, or the beer commercial “Tastes Great, Less Filling.” Our society is obsessed with feeling good, looking good, sounding good, smelling good, and having things that taste good. Sometimes the church is the same way, churches hire preachers that sound good and don’t pay attention to what they are teaching. Christian young people date attractive non-Christians and even marry them without paying attention to what disastrous consequences may come as a result.
As Christians, we must realize that there are limits on these things. We must at some point “deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus”. It may not look good to be lugging around a huge cross, and it certainly won’t feel good, but if we want to please God rather than men we must. If Adam and Eve had been able to resist the temptation of aestheticism, we might be in the garden yet. Think about how Eve was tempted. Moses wrote this concerning it, (Gen 3:5-6) “’ For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.’ {6} And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” Look at the aestheticism there: looked good, would taste good, would make her smarter (i.e. sounds good). God wants us to enjoy life, but he doesn’t want us to be indulgent. There are some things that may please the senses and not be wrong under certain circumstances while excessive or improper involvement would be wrong. For example: sexual intercourse is both pleasurable and pleasing to God inside the marriage relationship, but it is sinful outside the parameters set by God. Paul tells us that God’s grace was sent for the purpose of “teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;” (Titus 2:12)
Don’t compromise with the world by excusing and rationalizing the selfish and fleshly sins of aestheticism.
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