If it feels good, do it
Dave Crofts
"If it feels good, do it." That's what a lot of people think, isn't it? That's how a lot of people make their decisions. "I'm going to do what makes me feel good, what gives me pleasure."
The posh title for this philosophy, this worldview, is hedonism. The pursuit of pleasure, of feeling good, as your main aim in life.
Now, I've got a friend at work called Steve who is a self-confessed hedonist. I actually invited Steve to do this slot, so you could hear about hedonism from the horse's mouth, as it were, but - and this is completely true - his response was "I'll be too busy enjoying myself." Such is Steve's commitment to hedonism.
So you're left with me I'm afraid. But I think we can still have a useful think about this idea, and what Christianity has to say to it.
Now, I think most people who live their lives according to "If it feels good, do it," would actually in practice put a few 'unlesses' in there. "If it feels good, do it - unless it's going to kill you or significantly harm you in the long run." That's why, even though freefalling is a wonderful experience, the hedonistic parachutist will pull his release cord so that he can cruise to a safe landing.
"If it feels good, do it - unless it will significantly hurt others." That's another common one. Most hedonists aren't only committed to their own pleasure - they also want other people to enjoy themselves too.
There are a few essential 'unlesses'. And so the first point I want to make is this:
1. "If it feels good, do it" isn't practical on its own
Having said that, as long as they have those 'unlesses', many people are happy to live by the hedonistic worldview. And I want to say that actually, it's a view that makes a lot of sense.
Most hedonists would probably say that, if there's a God, he's generally against seeking pleasure. That he's some sort of a killjoy. That he wants you not to do what feels good, but instead to do what doesn't feel good. But God's not like that at all.
God wants us to enjoy ourselves. He wants us to feel good. Otherwise, why would he have created us with the ability to feel pleasure? Why would he have made a world with so much in it to enjoy? Why would he offer us, through Jesus Christ, the opportunity for infinite and eternal joy and pleasure? Why would Jesus himself say that "I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly?" (John 10:10). C.S. Lewis had this to say on the subject:
If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and to eagerly hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion...is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.
C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory
The problem with "If it feels good, do it," is that humans aren't actually very good judges of what really feels good. We persuade ourselves that the things that feel good, the things that we should do, are things like drink and sex and ambition - when in actual fact, if we could only see the bigger picture, we'd recognise that true joy and pleasure, eternal joy and pleasure is to be found in God alone, and in a relationship with him.
So my second point is this:
2. "If it feels good, do it" can't be trusted
We see that working out in practice all the time, don't we? It's there in miniature in the hangovers we see in the workplace on a Monday morning - getting drunk felt great at the time, but with hindsight it might not have been such a good idea.
It's all about whether we can see the bigger picture. And Christianity claims to give people the biggest picture there is.
I think if I thought this life were all there was, I'd be a hedonist. It seems like the best way to get the most out of a limited time on the planet.
But I know that this life isn't all there is. I know that there is eternal pleasure on offer for me - and for us all - in heaven. And so I try - in the words of Hebrews 12:2 - to look "to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross...and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."
Being a Christian doesn't always feel good - but we do it anyway, because we know the pleasure that's in store for us in the long run, in the bigger picture.
The final point I've got is therefore this:
3. "If it feels good, do it" doesn't consider eternity
The challenge to the hedonist is whether he or she has thought about eternity, and whether the life of Jesus Christ is a convincing indicator that there is life after death.
My honest conclusion is that there is, and therefore that all true hedonists should be Christians. It's that simple. When you look at the bigger picture, nothing will give you - or God - more pleasure.