Consider the Donut: The Importance of Pleasure

Avoiding pain and maximizing pleasure. This is perhaps one of the most enduring human instincts and life-shaping habits in history. How much space does personal enjoyment take up in our life plans? If you live in the same South Bay that I am blessed to call home, this is a very important question. We love a good beach day, party, or vacation! We love fun food, delicious drinks, excitement, and entertainment. We work hard and we play hard. Another, perhaps more important question is a theological one: how does our personal enjoyment and play fit into God’s design? Is God indifferent on the matter? Is He helping us get the party started? Or, like so many movies have suggested over the years, is God largely forbidding of fun and pleasure, like the curmudgeonly reverend in Footloose or the withholding mayor in Chocolat? Let’s crack open the scroll of Ecclesiastes and consider an inspired and inspiring ancient poem on the matter!