Seeking Comfort and Pleasure as a Christian
Christian teaching affirms that believers may rightly seek comfort and experience pleasure, though always within the framework of God's purposes and glory. Scripture itself speaks of "consolation in Christ" [4] and describes God's intent that believers' hearts "might be comforted" [3], establishing comfort as a legitimate aspect of Christian experience rather than something to be avoided.
Biblical Foundations for Comfort
The New Testament presents comfort as intrinsic to the gospel. Paul writes of "any consolation in Christ" and "any comfort of love" [4, 9], indicating that comfort flows from union with Christ himself. This is not merely emotional relief but spiritual consolation rooted in the believer's relationship with God. One commentator notes that this consolation may refer either to Christ's own exhortations to love and unity or to "comfort which springs from a man's being in Christ" [9]. The distinction matters: Christian comfort is not self-generated but derives from participation in Christ's life.
Paul's statement "I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake" [1, 2] demonstrates that Christian pleasure operates by a different calculus than worldly comfort-seeking. The apostle finds satisfaction not in avoiding hardship but in enduring it for Christ's sake, because "when I am weak, then am I strong" [2]. This paradox reveals that legitimate Christian pleasure may include what the world considers unpleasant, when such experiences deepen dependence on God.
The Disposition of Contentment
Christian tradition has consistently distinguished between contentment and the restless pursuit of comfort. Contentment is "a state of mind in which one's desires are confined to his lot whatever it may be" [8], opposed to "envy, avarice, ambition, anxiety, and repining" [8]. This disposition "arises from the inward disposition, and is the offspring of humility" [8], suggesting that the Christian's relationship to comfort is fundamentally shaped by humility before God's providence. Humility itself "preserves the soul in tranquillity" and "makes us patient under trials" [5], creating a stability that transcends circumstances.
The believer's access to God in prayer [6] provides a resource for comfort that does not depend on external circumstances. This access, "obtained through faith" and "by Christ" [6], means Christians may "obtain mercy and grace" [6] directly from God rather than seeking ultimate satisfaction in created things. The call to diligence in "seeking him" and "keeping the heart" [7] frames the Christian life as active pursuit of God himself, not passive reception of comforts.
Sources
- II Corinthians “II Corinthians 12:10 (Geneva1599) — Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproches, in necessities, in persecutions, in anguish for Christes sake: for when I am weake, then am I strong.”
- King James Version “[KJV] 2 Corinthians 12:10 — Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
- Colossians “Colossians 2:2 (Geneva1599) — That their heartes might be comforted, and they knit together in loue, and in all riches of the full assurance of vnderstanding, to know the mysterie of God, euen the Father, and of Christ:”
- King James Version “[KJV] Philippians 2:1 — If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Humility — A prominent Christian grace (Rom. 12:3; 15:17, 18; 1 Cor. 3:5-7; 2 Cor. 3:5; Phil. 4:11-13). It is a state of mind well pleasing to God (1 Pet. 3:4); it preserves the soul in tranquillity (Ps. 69:32, 33), and makes us patient under trials (Job 1:22). Christ has set us an example of humility (Phil. 2:6-8). We should be led thereto by a remembrance of our sins (Lam. 3:39), and by the thought that it is the way to honour (Prov. 16:18), and that the greatest promises are made to the humble (Ps. 147:6; Isa. 57:15; 66:2; 1 Pet. 5:5). It is a "great paradox in Ch”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Access to God — Is of God -- Ps 65:4. Is by Christ -- Joh 10:7, 9; 14:6; Ro 5:2; Eph 2:13; 3:12; Heb 7:9, 25; 10:19; 1Pe 3:18. Is by the Holy Spirit -- Eph 2:18. Obtained through faith -- Ac 14:27; Ro 5:2; Eph 3:12; Heb 11:6. Follows upon reconciliation to God -- Col 1:21,22. In Prayer -- See Prayer. De 4:7; Mt 6:6; 1Pe 1:17. In his temple -- Ps 15:1; 27:4; 43:3; 65:4. To obtain mercy and grace -- Heb 4:16. A privilege of saints -- De 4:7; Ps 15:1; 23:6; 24:3,4. Saints have, with confidence -- Eph 3:12; Heb 4:16; 10:19,20. Vouchsafed to repenting sinners -- See Repen”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Diligence — Christ, an example -- Mr 1:35; Lu 2:49. Required by God in Seeking him. -- 1Ch 22:19; Heb 11:6. Obeying him. -- De 6:17; 11:13. Hearkening to him. -- Isa 55:2. Striving after perfection. -- Php 3:13,14. Cultivating Christian graces. -- 2Pe 1:5. Keeping the souls. -- De 4:9. Keeping the heart. -- Pr 4:23. Labours of love. -- Heb 6:10-12. Following every good work. -- 1Ti 5:10. Guarding against defilement. -- Heb 12:15. Seeking to be found spotless. -- 2Pe 3:14. Making our call, &c, sure. -- 2Pe 1:10. Self-examination. -- Ps 77:6. Lawful business. -- Pr 27:”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Contentment — A state of mind in which one's desires are confined to his lot whatever it may be (1 Tim. 6:6; 2 Cor. 9:8). It is opposed to envy (James 3:16), avarice (Heb. 13:5), ambition (Prov. 13:10), anxiety (Matt. 6:25, 34), and repining (1 Cor. 10:10). It arises from the inward disposition, and is the offspring of humility, and of an intelligent consideration of the rectitude and benignity of divine providence (Ps. 96:1, 2; 145), the greatness of the divine promises (2 Pet. 1:4), and our own unworthiness (Gen. 32:10); as well as from the view the gospel opens up”
- Philippians (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Philippians 2:1: If there be therefore any consolation in Christ,.... Or "exhortation", as the word is sometimes rendered; that is, either if there is any exhortation of Christ to love and unity, as there is in Joh 13:34, and this is of any weight and value; or if an exhortation hereunto made in the name of Christ, by any of his ministers, messengers, and ambassadors, will be regarded, as it ought to be, then fulfil ye my joy, &c. Phi 2:2, but as the word is frequently translated "consolation", as it is here in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions; the sense may be eithe”