Articles
"Eat, Drink, and Be Merry"
“Eat, Drink, and Be Merry”
By Krystal Dunlap
The Energizer bunny is a bastion of continuous activity powered by what seems to be an endless source of energy. Humorously, his work consists of banging drums. In my strange mind, I have imagined what he must look like after a day of shooting commercials. I see him returning home, removing his battery, and settling in a recliner with a sigh to spend the evening watching Bugs Bunny on TV.
There was a time years ago when some likened me to that pink rabbit. I sought to fill every moment with activities, many of which could be compared to banging a drum. Friends from college have pictures of me sleeping on the floor where I fell out of exhaustion next to my textbooks and notes.
My motivation then was partially embedded in a misunderstanding of spiritual expectations. I felt that my hand must always be ‘at the plow’ doing physical work. To proverbially let go of the handle would make me as the “sluggard,” chided by Scripture (Prov. 6:9-11).
Time has shown me a way of life that would have been foreign to my young self. Though we are taught to be hard working, we are also told to relax. Consider the Father’s intention in His initial creation. He put Adam and Eve, not in a field or factory, but in Eden. Both were told that all plants would provide food and all beasts would be in submission to them. And after giving them an earthly paradise, what did He do? God, the eternally powerful One, took a day off to rest!
Jesus continued to model this pattern. While on earth, He attended feasts of celebration, one at which He provided additional wine for the guests (John 2:1-9). Jesus’s enjoyment of such entertainment led to incorrect criticism by others. He noted this Himself, saying “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber’.” (Matt. 11:19). Thus, both the Father and the Son prove through action that pleasure is acceptable.
The writer of Ecclesiastes can help us to reconcile our drive to work with the role of play. After considering a life of toil, he notes that the end of man’s physical work is futile (Ecc.2:17-23). In answer to his own question about what one has to show for their labor, he determines that their life is “sorrowful” and “burdensome.” In essence, physical work as a means to an end is like the banging of that bunny’s drums.
After such a negative evaluation of physical effort, the writer decides that one must take pleasure in their earthly blessings (Ecc.2:24-25). The original phrase in Hebrew is “to see good,” an idiom for “find enjoyment.” He notes that this happiness is “from the hand of God.” Thus, proverbially eating and drinking the wealth available here is part of the Father’s providence.
The roles of both toil and pleasure are expressed in one conclusive passage. The writer of Ecclesiastes says, “I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God” (Ecc. 3:12-13). Note the two sides listed here: man must both “do good” and “enjoy the good.”
Ultimately, we must balance these in life, avoiding the extremes of the sluggard and of the carpet-bound college student. Though we should not be lazy, we must not see work itself as a noble goal. Rather, it must be placed in context of God’s creation. Our purposeful toil will result in pleasurable things. We must strive to take time to stop, rest, and enjoy them.
Food for Thought
---“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of.” ―Benjamin Franklin
“The trick is to enjoy life. Don't wish away your days, waiting for better ones ahead.” ―Marjorie Pay Hinckley
“Enjoy life. There's plenty of time to be dead.” ―Hans Christian Andersen
