Pain and Pleasure

Pain and Pleasure

For those of us that have practiced addictions most of our lives, we have trained ourselves to reward any kind of pain or depletion that we experience in our day, with some kind of pleasure. So if we have experienced stress with our family, friends, or just plain had to work that day, we think that there should be some kind of pleasure fix in the end for us. This can be a dangerous mentality to live with because it breeds addiction. Rewarding yourself with the wrong kind of pleasure can just create more trouble and stress which we think we need more pleasure to relieve. It is a vicious cycle of destructive behavior that can quickly ruin our lives on every level.

^{MT 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has
enough trouble of its own.

Every day has it's own trouble and stress and we must learn to run to God and not to addiction when
we are feeling bored, overloaded, hurt, or unhappy. We do not really have to be rewarded for every bit of pain that we go
through in a day, we have just trained ourselves to be pleasure idolaters. Pain can be endured without running to sin-pleasure
to feel better afterward, and God wants us to learn to run to Him when we are in need. Besides, much of our reward for what
we have endured in life comes when we die, and there is a reward stored up for those who endure the unpleasantness of life
for Jesus sake without running to sin all the time. We must learn to retrain ourselves to seek righteous-pleasure, rather
than sin-pleasure when things have hurt or depleted us.

MT 19:29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or
fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

MT 16:27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will
reward each person according to what he has done.

We can learn to alleviate our daily or long term stress through prayer, reading God's word, counseling,
family support, friendship, fellowship, non-sinful entertainment, hobbies, exercise, or whatever else helps to restore and
heal us. Rewarding yourself with sin-pleasure just brings a curse upon your life and more trouble and pain to recover from.
Like I say, there is no problem so bad that addiction cannot make it worse. Addiction always destroys and never makes your
life truly better. So I would encourage you today to learn to reward yourself with God and right pleasure when pain comes
to sap your strength. There is a right and healthy way to deal with pain, boredom, or depletion; and there is also a wrong
way. Choose the right way today and live. God will satisfy what you really need.

1PE 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

PHP 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your
minds in Christ Jesus.

PS 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

HEB 11:25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures
of sin for a short time.}