Alcohol and food, which are wholesome in themselves, which are given to us by God for our enjoyment, but they are often perverted into drunkenness and gluttony, and drugs, which are often used for an escape from reality, which are a false refuge, which are often corrupted for one's own enjoyment rather than medicine, and the excessive love of pleasure, which is dissipation, which is folly and waste, and any other corrupt desire which come from our lust, which wages war against our soul, these will never sustain us - they only mask our deeply rooted issues for a little while and make life bearable for a short time. They come quickly and vanish quickly, for the same way they come, the same way they go. Is life so terrible that we need these? We all have our share in these during some time in our life, and if it was not then, perhaps now? But where is the light of life? For the way we feel, living in such things, surely it is not life. We are calloused, without feeling, so we have given ourselves over to sensuality, to the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness, for that is what we can feel; we are hardened by the unbelief of the world, and stimulated by the lust which is in the world. Isn't life supposed to be good? Isn't death bad? Yet our lives are not joyous, but they are like death. We don't know what life truly is - if we seen it walk by, we would say, "What was that?" Living for pleasure is not life; our trouble may be gone for a moment, but it is not gone forever; living for pleasure is like hitting the snooze button on an alarm clock - we may feel better now, but we will have to deal with the same problem later, but it has gotten worse. Even if we feel satisfied or fulfilled with these things, it is never enough; we are feeding a beast within us, the more we feed it, the bigger it gets; and the bigger it gets, the more we must feed it; it is never satisfied; we are the ones who make it stronger, and we are subdued by it. A dog growls when its not fed, how much more sin living within us which is a hound from hell? And sin is deathly, living in the sons of men; we are living, but sin is working death within us. We want to flee, but it's inside of us; we cover our eyes, but it lives in the darkness.
It is written, "He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, And he is like death, never satisfied.” (Habakkuk 2:5) And like death we are constantly seeking food - and we are not content; like Sheol we are always seeking drink, and we are not quenched; we eat and we are hungry again later; we drink and we are thirsty again; as it says, " All a man's labor is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not satisfied. " (Ecclesiastes 6:7)
And these, being for our enjoyment and nourishment, are corrupted into something it was never intended for. Food for the body, but God forbid for gluttony; drink to make the heart merry, but God forbid for drunkenness; sex for reproduction, but God forbid for immorality. God made everything good and upright, but we have twisted that which is straight. It is lust which corrupts God given necessities into dissipation and waste: for over-eating is not of hunger, and drunkenness is not of thirst, and immorality is not of reproduction; all of these are of pleasure; and from wisdom it does not come; as it says, " The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning, while the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure. " (Ecclesiastes 7:4)
So pleasure is not of wisdom; and seeking for pleasure is fleeting, for it lasts only for a short while; however prudence makes the most of her time, and looks to the future. No matter how much the eye sees, it is not enough; no matter how much the ear hears, it is not content. If these things truly make us happy, why wouldn't we express it outwardly? If we are truly happy, shouldn't our happiness resemble a child's happiness? Children are overcome with laughter and express joyfulness and run around expressing their happiness, jumping with joy. If these things truly make us happy, why don't we show it? Most often we are chained by such things: we are miserable inwardly, but outwardly we become less miserable, for these only mask our misery for a short while. In the beginning, we used to be happy, when sin wasn't alive, in the innocence of our childhood, but later, sin came alive and we died; sin put us to death, and it lives in our stead; we are dead in our sins, the whole lot of us. All of us have become enslaved to our own desires which corrupt, for lust corrupts and twists and perverts what is good.
And who is exempt from this? None of us. We are all under the power of sin. Which of us does not stoop to deficate? Who is born without a mother? We are led by the hand of this world into a cycle of dependence upon material things; we think we need these things to keep us in check; we say, "I don't feel normal without them." I testify about myself that I've been chained by many sins and pleasures and vices for many years of my life, and looking back, surely it was not life. Whatever a person is overcome by, that he is also enslaved. And how weak are we when something inaminate chains us! "I serve this and that, and I can't stop!" Whatever we offer ourselves to as obedient servants, by that, we are enslaved. And I was enslaved to everything a man could be enslaved by: food, alcohol, drugs, money, sex, and many other things. These things are not alive, but somehow I was enslaved to them as if they were; they are not gods at all, so why should I serve them? I must do for them, but what are they doing for me? I wouldn't call myself a man, for I can't get out. I want out, but I can't escape; I am surely in a prison cell. I want to stop sinning, but I can't; I want to be released, but I can't redeem myself. I am without power; hope, I have none. "Where is real pleasure and satisfaction?" And worse yet, I don't know how to utter it; for perhaps if I could tell someone, they could help. But instead, guilt and shame keep me from sharing, as if I am the only one dealing with such things, and there is no-one to relate; just as Solomon, who had great wisdom from God, writes, " All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. " (Ecclesiastes 1:8)
And so it is with me, I am full of weariness and I couldn't utter it. If only I could say, " I have sinned and perverted what is right, And it is not proper for me. " (Job 33:27)
So then I could say, "He has redeemed my soul from going to the pit, And my life shall see the light." (Job 33:28) However I am mute; I am unable to speak.
Solomon, still using his wisdom, searched out pleasure, and said: " I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity. I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life. (...) And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun. " (Ecclesiastes 2:1-11)
As Solomon said, "My heart still guiding me with wisdom", for wisdom guided him into all these things; and he spoke all these things so that we would not pierce ourselves with these same sorrows. Solomon's words are surely insightful. Wisdom originates from God; but every sinful habit originates with lust; and lust entices the eyes. As he says, "And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them." All sin begins here. And the end: as it says, "And behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind." So by the things of this world, no man will be satisfied. Even by images, which are copies, men have tried to find satisfaction. But if we aren't satisfied with the real thing, then why would we be satisfied with an image? For an image is a copy. But rather, images stimulate more lust, for an image makes itself greater than reality which it is portraying. And how computers stimulate desire through pictures! It is satisfying while on it, but afterwards it's like waking from a sleep. We live in an age where media screens are everywhere: it started with televisions in the living room, then escalated to monitors in the pocket. Surely these feed our eyes. This is what I meant when I said, "We are led by the hand of this world", for who creates advertisements? Who makes ready the fulfillment of our lusts? But still, the desire belongs to us, and we will be the ones who suffer for indulging it. We should not long for the things of the world, but the One who gives all good things is God.
Do you want further proof that we are dissatisfied and do not know it? A computer can create entire simulations for living a new life inside. If life were so good, then why does this exist? If we were satisfied with our lives, why would we seek another? Can a copy ever be as good as the real? Which do you like better: name brand goods or knock offs? Yes, knock offs are cheaper and require less of us, but they are not better, even in the slightest. In the same way, these simulations are cheaper: you can sit on the couch and be at a sports game! But it is certainly not better. So lust shows itself as something great, but it is less; it corrupts the natural into something seemingly greater and fulfills the desire with reality, not with what it is portraying. Desire is like an advertisement image: and does the image ever portray true reality? The artist makes it better than reality by skill, but it is not the true norm. And these images are fantasy, imagination, from one's own mind - and so is lust. Lustful desire is not reality; for when something is desired, it is made great in one's mind, but it remains the same in reality. On the television screen men can put their imaginations on it so you can say, "It must be, for I have seen it!" But it is not, it is trickery. It is merely an image someone made in their mind, in their imagination, making it visible for you to see; for it is what they want you to see and what they don't want you to see; and these images, which are from imaginations, entice lustful desire in those who see them. For why would someone make an image unless it is to be gazed at? (Covetousness is called idolatry; and covetousness is lust. And covetousness is condemned by the law.) And without question: lust pertains to the eyes. But the natural use is better than the unnatural, the real is better than the copy, good is better than evil, even in the meanwhile, if you think, "Ah! But it feels so good!" In the end you will not be saying that! Everything we sow, we will also reap. A person does not sow an apple and get an orange tree, does he? Neither does a person breed pigs and get cows. So why do you think, "I will sow corruption and get life"? Lust sowed reaps corruption; righteousness sowed reaps blessing; and lust conceived gives birth to sin. All sin is dysfunctional; and a dysfunction is useless. And that which is useless is put into a pit and awaits burning. A new sofa will become fettered, a new car will become a tin of rust, even our bodies are becoming old and gray and worn out: it will be soon in the grave. Evil will inherit evil and goodness will inherit goodness in the end. This is true, even if in the meantime we see the wicked prospering and the righteous suffering; as wisdom says, " I have seen everything during my lifetime of futility; there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness. " (Ecclesiastes 7:15)
And it says, " There are righteous men to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked. On the other hand, there are evil men to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I say that this too is futility. " (Ecclesiastes 8:14)
But it also says, " I said to myself, "God will judge both the righteous man and the wicked man," for a time for every matter and for every deed is there. " (Ecclesiastes 3:17)
So everyone will get what their deeds deserve in the end because God will cause His righteous judgment to be upheld. So take heed! As it says, " She who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives. " (1 Timothy 5:6)
So if we live for pleasure, our life is a waste, which is dissipation. What good comes from waste? When you burn garbage it is not even useful for the fire, for it pollutes the air and burns too quickly. Instead, fear God! Enjoy what God has given you without grumbling or complaining; as it says, " So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will stand by him in his toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun. " (Ecclesiastes 8:15)
And then it says, " I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one's lifetime; moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor - it is the gift of God. " (Ecclesiastes 3:12-13)