Recently, I watched an interview with Hollywood superstar Tom Holland about his struggles with alcoholism. The 27-year-old British actor has had worldwide success since starting his acting career began at age 9.
His success has earned him a spot as one of Hollywood’s A-list actors, it has created his own demon. We see a very spiritual principle here, our flesh is weak and is never satisfied (Proverbs 27:20, Matthew 26:41). Holland explained his daily struggles.
- Affected his mental health
- Couldn’t stop thinking about alcohol
- Always wanted more and more
As I listened, I could relate to his out-of-control flesh. As a youth, I experimented with smoking and drinking, even while attending church. In college, my mental and moral compasses stopped working altogether.
I faced the age-old battle between self-denial and self-gratification. I couldn’t deny myself anything that made me happy. Hedonism became my new faith.
Hedonism?
Hedonism is the pursuit of pleasure, even sensual self-indulgence. It is the belief that pleasure is the highest good and purpose of human life. It is a twisted belief as old as man.
The Old Testament chronicles the hedonistic practices of the ancient world. Although God called His people to be set apart from it, eventually even the wisest Jew was victim to the pursuit of pleasure.
King Solomon’s success allowed him to pursue every form of pleasure (Ecclesiastes 2:10). However, his final verdict was that earthly success and pleasure are meaningless (Ecclesiastes 2:11- 12).
Self-denial?
Always wanting and craving goes beyond the physical world. God created us with the need for Himself. When we refuse to deny ourselves, what we pursue becomes our God—meaningless idols. We are meant to worship the Creator and not the creation.
- Success
- Power
- Entertainment
- Food
- Alcohol
- Drugs
- Money
- Fame
- Health
- Knowledge
What Matters Most!
Most of these things aren’t bad in themselves, the problem is when we find our worth and value in them instead of in Jesus. Our Rabbi and Lord knew this and taught His Disciples the importance of denying themselves daily (Matthew 16:24).
The other Son of David preached self-denial versus self-gratification. Over and over Jesus reiterates what really matters isn’t the temporary pleasures of this life (Matthew 16:26). Jesus challenged God’s people’s beliefs and loyalty.
He warned us we cannot serve two masters, we will hate one and love the other—we cannot love both (Matthew 6:24-26). Jesus understood our flesh is weak and it’s never satisfied (Matthew 26:41)!
Always Wanting!
If you’ve ever been around little children, you have witnessed how selfish they naturally are. Children are satisfied by immediate gratification. Even when they get what they want, they are only satisfied for a little while.
It does not take long before they want something else and when they do not get it, they throw a childish temper tantrum. Sometimes the only thing that can soothe their disappointment is the attention of a caring parent.
Likewise, only God can fulfill our eternal longings, we were created to commune with Him (Genesis 3:8). Our Jewish stepfathers once believed and verbalized this through the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).
Self-gratification is idolatry and that distracts us from worshiping God because we are focused on the unholy Trinity of this life.
- Satan
- The world
- The flesh
God created man to pursue and worship Him. We all worship something whether we know it or not, ask Mr. Holland. Satan distracts us from God and focuses on ourselves and our selfish desires.
When he tempted Jesus in the wilderness, Jesus boldly practiced self-denial instead of self-gratification (Matthew 4:1-11)!
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