But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.
The verse stands within counsel about caring for people in need, requiring families to provide for their own relatives first. When family provision is not possible, the church is to take up the care so that the needy are not left destitute. It is part of instruction about caring for widows and the poor, where relief is to be wisely assessed rather than given indiscriminately. Faithful members in need are to be cared for first, while those able to support themselves are not to be encouraged to depend on free provision.
The verse means that one who lives in pleasure is dead even while alive, in a state of living death. This is because God is the fountain of life, and life is possessed only in communion with Him. A life centered on self and gratification, clinging to self and refusing to yield the will to God, therefore has no true life. An aimless life is likewise a living death, whereas happiness comes from the healthy exercise of body and mind. That happiness is found especially in directing the mind to eternal interests.
Hidden sins of the heart can be overcome only by surrendering the will so that God imparts His life. To refuse that surrender and hold to sin is to choose death. For God consumes sin wherever it is found, and His presence must consume those who will not separate from it.
The verse stands within counsel about caring for people in need, requiring families to provide for their own relatives first. When family provision is not possible, the church is to take up the care so that the needy are not left destitute. It is part of instruction about caring for widows and the poor, where relief is to be wisely assessed rather than given indiscriminately. Faithful members in need are to be cared for first, while those able to support themselves are not to be encouraged to depend on free provision.
The verse means that one who lives in pleasure is dead even while alive, in a state of living death. This is because God is the fountain of life, and life is possessed only in communion with Him. A life centered on self and gratification, clinging to self and refusing to yield the will to God, therefore has no true life. An aimless life is likewise a living death, whereas happiness comes from the healthy exercise of body and mind. That happiness is found especially in directing the mind to eternal interests.
Hidden sins of the heart can be overcome only by surrendering the will so that God imparts His life. To refuse that surrender and hold to sin is to choose death. For God consumes sin wherever it is found, and His presence must consume those who will not separate from it.