LIVING TO PLEASE GOD

The Apostle Paul, writing to the Thessalonians in his first letter, said, "as for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living" (4.1). This word of Paul concerns the Christian way of life: living to please God. For those who have been called to walk with Him no longer live only for themselves, but live for God. Look at what the Apostle said: "For none of us lives for ourselves alone... if we live, we live to the Lord..." (Romans 14:7,8). 

This question that Paul deals with is of paramount importance, for he speaks of the difference between being merely religious, that is, someone who has a religion but ultimately lives for himself; or being truly Christian. This desire for holy living comes from the example given by Christ, who "constrains us," for he loved sinful man so much that he died for him. That is why the Apostle speaks to the followers of Jesus to no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose for them (2 Corinthians 5:14,15). 

To please someone means to do their will. So Paul, speaking of this question to the Thessalonians, says, "it is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God" (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5). At other points in his literature, when speaking about the holy life, the Apostle discusses other aspects, but here he is specific about the sexual issue. 

It is clear that sex is a blessing from God for the happiness of the couple, who, in marriage, live the expression of a deep love in which both man and woman are one and of this love humanity perpetuates itself in time. Outside marriage, however, the Word of God sees sex as a grave sin. To see the other not as an integral being, but only as a mere object of pleasure is a reductionism of the fallen vision. To surrender to prostitution means to give up the condition of a person in order to become a thing, an object; and to enjoy sexual immorality as a source of pleasure is to enslave oneself to the degradation of being. 

Of course, this subject is difficult to deal with because the sexual appeal in contemporary society is very strong and impacts on all of us. But the Christian needs to face this issue and fight with himself to align himself with God's will. To love involves a certain effort, a certain sacrifice. Didn't Jesus say that the greatest commandment is "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" (Mark 12:30)? "With all your strength" shows that it is necessary to make an effort, a commitment to abandon sin. 

In this regard, "the Lord said to Cain: Why are you angry? Why is your face dowcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it” (Genesis 4:6,7). Yes, it is true that the Spirit helps us to live a holy life, but it is up to the man and the woman to make an effort, a desire, a movement towards holiness. Speaking to the Ephesians on this subject, Paul wrote: "among you there must not be even a hint of sexual impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people" (5:3).

Antônio Maia – M. Div.

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