We talk often about money and wealth and comfort here on the podcast because you send us a lot of great questions here.

And we address it a lot because there's an ever-present danger in thinking that Jesus is the means to gaining wealth in this life.

That's the false gospel of the prosperity gospel.

And it is alive and well in our day. And a major theme in this life. That's the false gospel of the prosperity gospel, and it is alive and well

in our day. And a major theme in the podcast, as you can see in the APJ book on pages 106 to 113.

In other words, people come to Christ for all the wrong reasons. And money is not the only one,

as we'll see today in this email from a listener named Nate.

Pastor John, thank you for your ministry.

My question ties directly into the concept of Christian hedonism and my joy in Christ.

This concept was so important to me years ago because although I had accepted Christ,

I remember deeply wrestling with a lack of desire for God.

I didn't desire God in the way I wanted to, but I knew I wanted to be happy.

Christian hedonism taught me that desiring the Lord wasn't some bleak reality I'd never attain,

but a beautiful, attainable reality that had direct implications for my joy. Desiring the Lord

became less about trying to be more Christian and more an act of desperation to find the joy and

fulfillment God always intends me to have in him. As I reflect on how Christian hedonism helped me see

that my longing for joy and my desire for God go hand in hand, my questions are, are there any wrong

reasons to come to Christ, is coming to him for the sake of finding joy truly sufficient.

As I matured, my desire for God himself certainly has grown.

I came to him for fulfillment, and now I love Jesus for who he is, but is it biblical and

appropriate to come to faith in Jesus for less than Jesus himself?

Is it possible to exalt my own joy in Christ over Christ himself?

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