1316) Have you noticed how often people use the word addicted? We’ll hear of someone who became addicted to drugs, alcohol, or gambling. Though a person’s background and maybe even a genetic tendency makes addiction susceptible, it usually starts out as a choice.

When we read 2 Timothy 3:4, Paul tells us that in the last days, people are going to be lovers of pleasure and not God. I think an accurate way to read this is that in the last days, people will become addicted to pleasure. It will be the motivation for any actions, relationships, thoughts, and feelings. It _____ (you fill in the blank) helps me feel pleasure, then I will embrace it.

Our society is already progressing down this pathway that leads to emptiness. Why do I use the word empty? Because pleasure is fleeting. It’s there for a moment and then floats away until you find it in something else, which also floats away. Pleasure will only bring a moment of contentment, but leaves you hungry for more, just like an addiction.

If in the last days, pleasure-seeking will be the norm, all other virtues fall away. Living in a community addicted to pleasure will not be pleasurable, even in the moment.