PLEASURE

John Calvin scathingly challenged expressions of faith that have to go 'one step further' to prove their holiness. The Colossians began by saying you shouldn't eat a lot of something - so therefore, you shouldn't consume part of that something - and therefore, you shouldn't even taste that something - then they made it criminal to even touch that something. In other words, there was - and IS - no end to new laws being daily added to old ones and new laws starting up from time to time.

Jesus never urges us that way. For instance, Jesus never explicitly commands His disciples to fast. He does suggest His disciples will fast. He gives guidelines for fasting properly. But these never take the form of a command. And Jesus categorically rejects a strict interpretation of the Sabbath, saying, "The Sabbath was made for man; not man for the Sabbath."

Certainly, Jesus assumed His followers would live disciplined lives while warning them to stay away from one-upsmanship of pious holiness, which is its own form of sin. Jesus wants us to fully engage in life, yet never fall captive to it - the ultimate balanced view of pleasure.

And be blessed.