Author: Elaine Brown
John Piper coined the term Christian Hedonism in his 1986 book Desiring God. Out of that term came his most famous quote (at least for me), “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”
When I counsel, this is a quote I share and have the counselee memorize. Abundant joy and total commitment to the glory of God has to go together in some way. The chief end of man is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever. We will make a god out of what we take most pleasure in. Romans 6:16 “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” One goal of Biblical counseling should be about helping people make God their God by wakening in them the greatest pleasure in Him. Ministry should aim at the deepest, highest, and longest joy of those we serve. And that means joy in God. Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” In our human flesh we are inclined to do what it perceives will being the most happiness. Pleasure in one sense, is a gauge of how much importance we place on what we value. God is not glorified in us as He ought to be when He is not our greatest joy.
Is Christian Hedonism Biblical? Can John Piper be correct? Let's look at Philippians 1:20-23 ESV “20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.” With the word “for” Paul grounds the certainty of his expectation that Christ will be magnified in his body when he lives and when he dies. Why? Because for him to live is Christ and to die is gain.
How is Christ shown to be magnificent in our dying? Paul's answer is that Christ is shown to be magnificent in our dying when we experience Him as more satisfying than all the pleasures that life in this world could give. Or to state: Christ is most magnified in me when I am most satisfied in Him, especially through suffering and death. God's passion to be glorified and my passion to be satisfied were not alternatives. Paul said, Christ is magnified not instead of my being satisfied in Him, but by means of my being satisfied in Him. My satisfaction in Christ above all this world, at the point of suffering and death, is what makes Him look magnificent. And you cannot glorify God in your heart if your heart does not find God more satisfying than everything else. Therefore, MY pursuit of satisfaction—my pursuit of happiness—is not just permitted.
If we are drawn to God because we want to spend time with God, if God is our treasure and our satisfaction, God is honored. This is right at the heart of what it means to be a believer, what it means to belong to Jesus Christ, what it means to treasure and trust Jesus Christ.
How to put this into practice
God loves a cheerful giver, 2 Corinthians 9:7. “He wills that we delight in doing good and that we do it with the confidence that our obedience secures and increases our joy in God.” How is the counselee giving? How do they give their time, talent, and treasure? Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The motive to be a generous person is that it expresses and expands our joy in God. And the pursuit of that joy is the pursuit of giving not getting.
There are two possible attitudes in genuine worship: delight in God or repentance for the lack of it. Is the counselee committed to regular corporate worship? Does the counselee understand sin, forgiveness and repentance?
1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" Does the counselee see that the most fundamental things of life such as eating and drinking are for the glory of God?
Does the counselee understand why God created the world? This really goes back to we are image bearers of God. God created this world for the praise of the glory of His grace displayed supremely in the death of Jesus. God's design to pursue His own glory turns out to be love. And our duty to pursue God's glory turns out be a quest for joy.
C. S. Lewis said in his book Reflections on the Psalms, “I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.” (93-95) How often does the counselee tell God they love Him. Or for that matter how often do they tell their spouse or children that they love them. Are they able to express love for their fellow brother or sister in Christ?
Can the counselee acclaim the attributes of God? Reading the Psalms with His attributes in mind is a good homework assignment. If you can't see God's attributes in the scripture how can you acclaim Him?
Joy is not optional, it’s essential
Christian Hedonism is the conviction that God’s ultimate goal in the world (His glory) and our deepest desire (to be happy) are one and the same, because God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. Not only is God the supreme source of satisfaction for the human soul, but God Himself is glorified by our being satisfied in Him. Therefore, our pursuit of joy in Him is essential.
Christian Hedonism claims that the Christian life should be the pursuit of maximum joy in God — joy both in quality and quantity. Fullness of joy and joy forevermore (Psalm 16:11) are found only in Him.
Joy changes everything
Learning that God’s glory and our joy are not at odds is a liberating discovery. Christian Hedonism touches, and reshapes, our vision of essentially all of life and ministry from conversion to worship to the Scriptures to prayer. Much is at stake with joy in God. Many have thought about Christianity for so long in terms of duty, rather than delight, that the claims of Christian Hedonism can be tough to swallow, to marriage to missions to suffering, and even the very nature of God Himself.
In conclusion, after counseling for over 10 years, I have discovered that 100% of those who come in for counseling do not understand Christian Hedonism, nor do they understand basic doctrines such as sin, progressive sanctification, assurance of salvation, the Holy Spirit, the role of the wife in marriage, nor that their identity is in Christ. To get the issue of the heart is complex because of the total lack of understanding the above. Only the Holy Spirit can change the heart, but I believe that if the counselee cannot embrace “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him” change will be challenging for the counseled. When a person is satisfied in God, it can change their life.
Sources
Desiring God article, “What is Christian Hedonism?
Desiring God article “Christian Hedonism, Forgive the Label, But Don't Miss the Truth.”
Desiring God article “Joy is not optional. It's essential.
Desiring God article “Joy Changes Everything.”
Got questions article “What is Christian Hedonism?
Desiring God article “God is most glorified in Us When We are Most Satisfied in Him”
