I was driving home from work this evening listening to Fresh Air on NPR.
The interview was with Woody Allen on his 40th film, Whatever Works.

Woody Allen, as bawdy as he can be,  has a way with words, and there
is definitely some understanding into life that quirkily makes its way to
the surface when he speaks.

Although this is an interview regarding his upcoming movie —
Allen waxes philosophical in a most poignant way about
pleasure, pain, life and distractions.

His theory on life is pretty simple:  Life is miserable, so try to enjoy it.

Real life is full of tragedy, disappointment, fear and inevitability.

And so he postulates that we use things that are pleasurable to distract
ourselves from these thoughts. Thoughts that left unchecked, would be a
constant source of worry.

But where Allen really hits the nail on the head is the moment he verbalizes
the limitations of pleasure to deal with the real problems of life. 
It’s only a temporal distraction. There is always this inevitability hanging
over the horizon that is inescapable.

This is the basis for the second half of Ephesians chapter 4.
The message is that the whole world is walking around drunk on pleasure —
chasing after anything to keep it distracted. To keep it from real contemplation. 

The Biblical conclusion though is this:

 Distraction alienates people from real life.

And real life is only found in Jesus.

Jesus isn’t just another distraction.
Something to deafen the mind to reality.
He is reality.

Seek pleasure, but as Allen says — it’s only temporary.
We must find a real solution.

ps: Listen to the entire Fresh Air interview with Woody Allen here.