Simple Pleasures

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:13 – “…moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.” (NRSVue)

What are the simple pleasures of life? How do we know if we are doing too little or too much to enjoy the gifts that God has given us? Religion often teaches us that it is bad to chase after pleasures. It is wrong to eat too much, drink too much, date too much, or have too much money. But it is also clear that God does not want us to be miserable. We should enjoy food, love, and prosperity. Why would God provide these blessings if we were not to enjoy them?

This is a question that has puzzled thinkers for centuries, but I think most come down on the side of moderation. This is what the author of Ecclesiastes does. He is either a king—perhaps Solomon himself—or he feels like a king. He looks back on his life and sees how empty it is. He says, “All is vanity,” or literally mist that just evaporates away. Working is vanity, pleasure is vanity, and there is nothing new under the sun. But when he considers that there is a time for every matter under heaven, he concludes that since we can never know the fullness of God’s mind, we should accept the happiness that we can find. He says, “it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.”

What are the simple pleasures in your life? What might be harmless for one person may seem wickedly indulgent or pointlessly stingy to another. In our book study, we are looking at Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. While she is a successful college professor, she says that her true calling may have been to be a nineteenth century farmer’s wife. What really matters to her is struggling with her garden, her maple trees, or her pond choked with algae. It is these simple pleasures that keep her close to nature and her family that matter more than all the accolades the world can bestow.

I like to watch movies and television with my family, go out to dinner sometimes, and read a good book (and a few bad ones). I write adventure stories for my friends. I might splurge on an expensive board game or go on a vacation every other year. These seem like simple pleasures to me, but your milage may vary.

I think that what matters is whether what you do brings you closer to God and to other people, or if it hurts or isolates you from them. If you focus your mind on loving God, show kindness and mercy to your neighbors, never take more than you need and give what you can, then I think the things that make you happy will bring you the joy that God intends for you.

Prayer: God, keep my mind fixed on you and give me the strength to find a middle path to you. Amen.