Why does sin feel "good"?

[friend of]

I used to be an alcoholic and I loved getting drunk. It was pleasurable to me. It's not anymore since I came to Christ because getting drunk is sinful dissipation, but I recall wanting to get drunk a lot before i got saved. What is it about sins like drunkenness, anger, fornication or revenge that feel so "good"? Why would God make the universe like this? Wouldn't it have been better if God made the Holy stuff less strenuous and the evil stuff (ie drunkenness fornication self adulation, etc.) Less appealing? I suppose it's only really appealing to the base and depraved godless minds, but why so? Why is our nature by default, so wicked and unholy?

I may not have phrased things correctly in this thread. That's all for now.

Tl;dr why is sinning pleasurable in the first place, especially when it is against Yahweh?

 

[Paidiske]

The way I see it, our bodies come with certain drives and processes, and are not very discerning about how we live those out. So, for example, anything that gives the brain a dopamine hit will feel good (in the short term, at least) even though some of those things are not, objectively, very good for us. It's physiology.

Maturity comes, for us, in being able to apply that discernment and learn to obtain our pleasures in healthy ways, rather than indiscriminately.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

God created all things "good". As an example, sex is good when in the confines of marriage. Outside it leads to single mothers and broken relationships. God calls that sin, why? Because it hurts people. As Moses said "obey these commands to your benefit". GOd did not create anything evil, he just put boundaries on what hurts mankind.

 

[fhansen]

I used to be an alcoholic and I loved getting drunk. It was pleasurable to me. It's not anymore since I came to Christ because getting drunk is sinful dissipation, but I recall wanting to get drunk a lot before i got saved. What is it about sins like drunkenness, anger, fornication or revenge that feel so "good"? Why would God make the universe like this? Wouldn't it have been better if God made the Holy stuff less strenuous and the evil stuff (ie drunkenness fornication self adulation, etc.) Less appealing? I suppose it's only really appealing to the base and depraved godless minds, but why so? Why is our nature by default, so wicked and unholy?

I may not have phrased things correctly in this thread. That's all for now.

Tl;dr why is sinning pleasurable in the first place, especially when it is against Yahweh?

Pleasure is good. Many things are good because God, the Creator, is good. But when they become idols in themselves we become slaves to them, and they become objects of abuse. We can’t ask God to make things less good, but together with Him, with Him having the highest position in our desire, in our love, we can begin to appreciate their goodness and beauty, keeping them in their proper place, using and benefiting from them as they were created to be used and benefited by. None of them can bring the perfect satisfaction and happiness that we all want-and that we were actually created by God to have.

So the experience or knowledge of that good, along with the knowledge of evil (evil being the abuse of some created good) are meant to help us identify and choose between the two, help us to finally run to the ultimate Good, the source of all goodness, to God, Himself, when, by grace, we meet Him. But humans were set on a course by Adam away from God, looking to ourselves and natural created things, apart from Him, for our fulfillment. Who needs God? And His rules? We’ll be better off making our own rules, deciding for ourselves what makes us happy. We’re here to learn how wrong that choice is, how much we need God. We’re here to learn the truth of Jesus’s words in John 5:15, “Apart from Me you can do nothing.”

As Aquinas put it, “God alone satisfies”

 

[royal priest]

Sin feels good because we ignore the pressure of our God-given consciences. We harden our hearts and brace the painful guilt until we become hardened beyond feeling of any guilt or regret. We no longer care about hurting family, friends, and community. We ignore all that God has put in place to pressure us into self-control to the point that we lose concern for every consequence. Lawless men are at enmity with God, spiritually dead in their sins, and only the resurrecting power of God can save such a person.
Ephesians 1:18-20; 2:1
"that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places"
"you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins"

 

[RileyG]

We are fallen beings with an inward tendency to sin.

 

[Saucy]

God created all things "good". As an example, sex is good when in the confines of marriage. Outside it leads to single mothers and broken relationships. God calls that sin, why? Because it hurts people. As Moses said "obey these commands to your benefit". GOd did not create anything evil, he just put boundaries on what hurts mankind.

I agree with this. They are not inherently bad. There's nothing wrong with drinking alcohol. Even Jesus drank wine. All the bible says is to not be drunk. Food is good, but don't be a glutton. Sex is good within the confines of marriage.

I've explained before in a blog that God is not a cosmic killjoy. To a child, a hot burner might look like something worth touching. It's bright and pretty. But a good parent says, "Don't touch it!" If they try again, they might get a swat on the hand. How dare that parent keep their child from the pleasure of doing what they want! <<----at least this is how we react when God says not to do something.

But God knows what that parent knows...touching that bright pretty thing is going to cause severe burns. We see the consequences of sin in this world. I can use sex outside of marriage as an example. One of the leading causes of crime and poverty is single parents. Too many people have sex in their youth outside of marriage. Then you are left with fatherless children being raised by a single parent working a minimum-wage job (or several to pay all the bills). Kids grow up not raised correctly and without the discipline of a father. How many millions of abortions have taken place?

If people did what God said and didn't have sex before marriage, there would be very little poverty, no STDs (millions wouldn't have died from AIDS), very few single parents, less crime, very few abortions, etc.

It feels good to eat, but gluttony results in obesity.
It feels good to have money, but then you can see the consequence of greed around the world.
And so on and so on...

 

[RileyG]

The way I see it, our bodies come with certain drives and processes, and are not very discerning about how we live those out. So, for example, anything that gives the brain a dopamine hit will feel good (in the short term, at least) even though some of those things are not, objectively, very good for us. It's physiology.

Maturity comes, for us, in being able to apply that discernment and learn to obtain our pleasures in healthy ways, rather than indiscriminately.

Fascinating!

That makes total sense. Not completely off topic, but in the area of addiction, our brain chemicals become addicted to themselves. Our neurotransmitters can go haywire when we develop bad habits.

Our souls, on the other hand, are hurting.

 

[Servant78]

Getting drunk is similar to pigs resting in dirty mud. People who get drunk while having sex will not produce obedient children but rebel and lazy descendants.

 

[Landon Caeli]

why is sinning pleasurable in the first place, especially when it is against Yahweh?

I would say sin feels exciting more than it feels good or pleasurable. And why we desire excitement in our lives is probably because we're not fulfilling our lives to our greatest God-given potential, and so our minds become bored... IOW, we're being lazy, and so the one sin leads to the other.

IMO.

 

[friend of]

Okay but like why is sinning pleasurable? Why did God make it that way?

 

[Paidiske]

I guess what I was trying to say is that sin is pleasurable because we have the capacity for pleasure. And we have the capacity for finding pleasure even in pretty terrible circumstances.

There's grace in that, on one level; it probably helps us survive all sorts of awful things in life. But there's also the potential - or the temptation - to misuse that grace.

 

[friend of]

I guess what I was trying to say is that sin is pleasurable because we have the capacity for pleasure. And we have the capacity for finding pleasure even in pretty terrible circumstances.

There's grace in that, on one level; it probably helps us survive all sorts of awful things in life. But there's also the potential - or the temptation - to misuse that grace.

Thank you

 

[Petros2015]

why is sinning pleasurable in the first place, especially when it is against Yahweh?

Because we are against Yahweh. We just don't realize or acknowledge the extent of that without the revelation that He grants, which is itself a mercy.

It's like saying "I'm an alcoholic" (which I did many times) but without realizing the ramifications of that fact

 

[disciple Clint]

I used to be an alcoholic and I loved getting drunk. It was pleasurable to me. It's not anymore since I came to Christ because getting drunk is sinful dissipation, but I recall wanting to get drunk a lot before i got saved. What is it about sins like drunkenness, anger, fornication or revenge that feel so "good"? Why would God make the universe like this? Wouldn't it have been better if God made the Holy stuff less strenuous and the evil stuff (ie drunkenness fornication self adulation, etc.) Less appealing? I suppose it's only really appealing to the base and depraved godless minds, but why so? Why is our nature by default, so wicked and unholy?

I may not have phrased things correctly in this thread. That's all for now.

Tl;dr why is sinning pleasurable in the first place, especially when it is against Yahweh?

part of it may be that it appeals to our rebelliousness, as soon as there is a rule or a law the first though is often "they can't tell me what to do" it is all part of our sin nature as a result of the fall.

 

[tobyw]

Tl;dr why is sinning pleasurable in the first place, especially when it is against Yahweh?

My guess. Just because a fruit is forbidden doesn't mean it inherently tastes bad. It's the association with guilt and shame we don't enjoy. Eg for a Christian, they might enjoy fornicating as much as anybody else on one level - pleasure is pleasure - but they don't enjoy sense of shame and guilt that goes with it, which ultimately makes the experience not worthwhile.

 

[Mink61]

I used to be an alcoholic and I loved getting drunk. It was pleasurable to me. It's not anymore since I came to Christ because getting drunk is sinful dissipation, but I recall wanting to get drunk a lot before i got saved. What is it about sins like drunkenness, anger, fornication or revenge that feel so "good"?

Sins such as the ones you described may "feel so good" to some people, but not everyone.

Why would God make the universe like this?

God didn't make "the universe" like this. Obviously, there are plenty of people in "the universe" who find the sins you described as distasteful, and something to be avoided.

Wouldn't it have been better if God made the Holy stuff less strenuous and the evil stuff (ie drunkenness fornication self adulation, etc.) Less appealing?

It almost sounds like you're blaming God for making some sins 'appealing'. Yet, as I pointed out above, not everyone finds those things pleasurable, so you really can't blame God. Also, not everyone finds the "Holy stuff" to be "strenuous".

I suppose it's only really appealing to the base and depraved godless minds, but why so? Why is our nature by default, so wicked and unholy?

I may not have phrased things correctly in this thread. That's all for now.

Tl;dr why is sinning pleasurable in the first place, especially when it is against Yahweh?

I don't see our 'nature' as necessarily being "wicked and unholy". I DO see us as being born immature, and that it's up to Godly parents to inspire us to become more mature--both spiritually and emotionally. Of course, our parents can only take us so far in our journey. After that, we're responsible for the continuation of that journey.

Unfortunately, one can't take a magic pill or eat certain foods in order to become more mature. They have to want to be mature in the first place. Their desire for maturity has to overwhelm their desire for fun.

For some, this never happens.

 

[Ahermit]

...why is sinning pleasurable in the first place, especially when it is against Yahweh?

It is the feeling of being validated, in control, self worthy of being pleasured.

However, most people in this world do not realize that we are not here for self, but for the One who sent us. The purpose is to be a witness of God's unconditional Love to those that are unconditional to receive the Truth, the Love, and the Faith of God. Upon receiving God's Grace, we become the Light of the world and a witness that God has not abandon humanity at all, but actually is reaching out to humanity through our unconditional love for the Love that loves us. This sort of 'pleasure' comes from within.

The sort of pleasure that sinners experience comes from outside of them. To do this, they have to resort to exploiting other people, places, things, and situations so they can exploit themselves in sinful(false) pleasure.

 

[Marumorose]

I used to be an alcoholic and I loved getting drunk. It was pleasurable to me. It's not anymore since I came to Christ because getting drunk is sinful dissipation, but I recall wanting to get drunk a lot before i got saved. What is it about sins like drunkenness, anger, fornication or revenge that feel so "good"? Why would God make the universe like this? Wouldn't it have been better if God made the Holy stuff less strenuous and the evil stuff (ie drunkenness fornication self adulation, etc.) Less appealing? I suppose it's only really appealing to the base and depraved godless minds, but why so? Why is our nature by default, so wicked and unholy?

I may not have phrased things correctly in this thread. That's all for now.

Tl;dr why is sinning pleasurable in the first place, especially when it is against Yahweh?

Sin is the food for the flesh. The body survives on cravings and craving is a form of sin. May God Bless You

 

[Bob Crowley]

I think there's a bit more to it. I suspect there are any number of married men who fantasise about sex outside marriage. So what's the attraction? Is the devil in the act somehow?

I remember a comment my wife made way back when she worked about another lady she worked with. This lady had been living with her boyfriend and then they got married. But she complained the sex was no longer as good. For some reason the illicit sex had a tang to it that respectable married sex didn't.

I'm diabetic, and I know too much sugar is not good for me. But I like my chocolate - not that I eat much, but it's still a temptation.

Then some of us seem to be wired towards certain sins. I have hardly any gambling instinct at all, and the sports gambling ads I see on TV irritate me. But for a gambling addict, they can't be much help. Years ago I was driving a cab at night, and pulled up outside a casino in town. What looked like a security guard bundled a bloke into the back seat and gave me a voucher to pay for the trip. The passenger looked washed out, and had probably lost everything at the casino.

I wonder how he felt the next day?

I don't know the answer but it would appear illicit sins have a certain attraction to them.

And people with addictions have very little resistance to those specific addictions, like drug addicts and alcoholics. Addictions also obey the law of diminishing returns - addicts require more and more of the addicting substance or behaviour for an ever diminishing return.

We've got a fallen nature, and it shows in our behaviour.