“Eat, Drink and be Merry"

By Namcham

     Epicurus, a Greek philosopher once said: “Stranger, here you will do well to tarry. Here our highest good is pleasure.” For Epicureans pleasure is the highest purpose of life. We also know the old adage, “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die” which sums up the whole philosophy of hedonism which is a “belief that pleasure or happiness is the most important goal in life” (found also in Ecclesiastes 8:15 & Isaiah 22:13).

     
     Doing what you want in life may not be so wrong on a personal level but the question is “What is it that you really want in life?” What is it that by doing it makes you so happy and satisfied or fulfilled? Obviously, we'll all have a variant of choices and decisions and values, and depending on it we'll have our own definitions and goals of pleasure. David Cook says that it is the pleasure that turns on people to do what is pleasurable and avoid painful consequences. What is worth noting in the 'greatest happiness' principle is that there is a danger of leading “to the disintegration of society” because if everybody did “whatever turned us on, and if that was not the same for everyone, we would end up at each other's throats in social anarchy.” If everyone did what pleases him or her or say whatever he wants without restraining, the whole world will be in chaos and disorder and such society can never truly benefit anyone.
     However, some would argue that this is what we are made for and that we ought to enjoy while we are still alive, we live but for once and who cares with what we do as long as we enjoy and find happiness out of it.In short, “what we do, we want to do” is what they are saying.
     Of course, there are some benefits of pleasure. Barclay rightly notes that (i) Pleasure is a necessity for life, without which we'll be missing out something from our life and will never be satisfied until it is met (ii) Pleasure relaxes our mind and (iii) Pleasure rejuvenates our body.
There are many examples which we can cite where people indulged themselves into different forms of pleasures but for now let us look at two of the prevalent booming industries where people mostly indulged in pleasures:
1. According to the statistics, Las Vegas and Macau are the top locations in the world regarding the number of casinos and the revenue generated through gambling. Gross revenue from gaming and gambling in Macau has generated over the past few years to more than 40 billion U.S. dollars annually, up from around 10 billion U.S. dollars in 2007. The casino gaming market in the United States is estimated at around 60 billion U.S. dollars annually. Amongst the leading casino companies in the world are Las Vegas Sands, SJM Holdings, MGM Resorts, Caesar’s Entertainment, the Galaxy Entertainment Group, Genting, and Wynn Resorts.
2. The U.S. beverage alcohol industry is a major contributor to the economy, responsible for over $400 billion in total U.S. economic activity in 2010, generating nearly $90 billion in wages and over 3.9 million jobs for U.S. workers.
In 2010, distilled spirits accounted for over $120 billion in total economic activity, or 30% of total economic activity from all beverage alcohol.

The Christian View of pleasure

     What is food for one may be a poison for another. The same thing that brings pleasure to one can be an insult, a spurn, a pooh-pooh or even turn your nostrils up. To one person a particular food may be mouth-watering while to the other it could be just queasy. To one a rock music would be his favorite but to some it would be a mere noise clanging, or the same thing goes for the sports, drinks, hobbies and so on.
     According to William Barclay:
Pleasure is that which is pleasant; and that which is pleasant is that which is pleasing. Pleasure is that which a man does simply and solely to please himself. Pleasure is what a man does when he does what he likes. He is not doing it because he has to;...he is doing it for no other reason that that he likes doing it.
     Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:23 that "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is constructive. According to Apostle Paul, everything is permissible but not everything that we do will result in benefits. Based on that, our Christian ethics should be built firmly and examine what type of pleasure are we indulging in or how far can we as Christians are allowed to go or touch or see or feel. Some might ask, can Christians indulge in pleasure? Of course we are created for pleasures but to what degree are we permitted or to what level can we go and yet be still normative in our Christian ethics is a question. Some of the Scripture passages that talks about this are: So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (I Cor 10:31); And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Col 3:17). 
One must see what kind of pleasure it is. Anything that does not add up to pure pleasure or anything that does not bring glory to God would be sinful and hence, become unethical for the Christians who are living by the standard of biblical norms. Nothing should be done out of self-gratification or selfish desire and wants.

Suggestions

    Some of the suggestions based on Barclay are: (i) No pleasure 

can be right if its effects on the person who indulges in it are  harmful. (ii) No pleasure can be right if its effect on others is harmful. (iii) A pleasure which becomes an addiction can never be 

right. (iv) Any pleasure which can be a source of danger to others must be very carefully thought about. (v) A pleasure is wrong, if to enjoy it the essentials of life have to take less than their proper 

place. (vi) The ultimate test of any pleasure is, does it, or does it not, bring regret to follow, and that pleasure which brings regret is wrong. 

     In the end it's between you and God and you have to give an account for whatever you did. I want to sum up with the words of the wisest man who ever lived:

13 Now all has been heard;

here is the conclusion of the matter:

Fear God and keep his commandments,

for this is the duty of all mankind.

14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,

including every hidden thing,

whether it is good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

Sources:

1. All Scriptures unless or otherwise indicated are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV), Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. Inc. 
2. Barclay, William. Ethics in a Permissive Society, Harper & Row, Publishers, New York, London, 1971, 110-26
3. Cook, David. Dilemmas of Life: Deciding what's right and what's wrong, Inter-Varsity Press, Leicester, England, 1990, 46-48.
3. http://philosophyforlife.org/philosophies-for-life/epicureans/ (accessed August 02, 2014)
4. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hedonism (accessed August 02, 2014)
5. http://www.statista.com/markets/409/topic/438/gambling/ (accessed August 05, 2014)
6. http://www.discus.org/economics/ (accessed August 05, 2014)