Pain and pleasure

Love does not delight in evil (1 Corinthians 13:6).

Why do we like to see people hurt? 

Think of the crime dramas on television.  The producers don’t have to show the crime—the violence could happen off camera.  But in most cases, either you are shown the crime as it happens, or you see glimpses of it through flashbacks. 

Take professional sports as another example.  Fans get excited when a fight breaks out.  Sportscasters praise football players who make a bone-jarring tackle.  Boxing and pro wrestling are all about violent conflict.

Pain and humiliation are everywhere on the Internet.  There are all sorts of videos that show accidents in progress—kids falling at dance recitals, teens crashing while trying a crazy stunt, adults drunkenly stumbling into walls.  We laugh at clips showing children who are fighting over a Christmas present, or college kids pulling scary pranks on unsuspecting roommates.  Pain and abuse even feature in some forms of pornography.

What’s the fascination?  Why do we find pleasure in another person’s discomfort?  I think that it’s about power.  When someone is scared or hurt, they are weak and helpless—this makes us feel strong and in control.  You don’t identify with the victim, because then you would share that person’s pain and terror.  No, you see yourself in the powerful individual who looks down in triumph on the vanquished.  You see yourself as the casual observer who has the power to rush in and save the helpless.  Seeing a victim makes us feel powerful—that, I believe, is why we are fascinated by human misery.

How different we are from Jesus!  The Son of God has unlimited power, yet He takes no pleasure in looking on human suffering.  He came into our world to save us, but not in order to feel superior.  No, the Christ of God came among us as a man so that He could sympathize with our weaknesses.  He saw our pain and humiliation, and it grieved Him so deeply that He took our suffering upon Himself.  The only place Jesus finds pleasure is in loving, respectful relationships.  He died and rose to make such relationships possible for us.  Thanks to Jesus, we don’t need pain in order to find pleasure.