Jun 103 min read

Purpose & Pleasure

June 9, 2024

This week I got to do a bit of feasting with friends! Afternoon aperitivos and evening dinners. Eating with the people I love is my favorite way to pass time. I truly don’t think there’s anything better. I think it’s what I was made for.

I recently wrote a poem of sorts, about being around a table, so I’ll share it here:

If I could paint, I’d paint two pictures:

One titled “Purpose”,

One titled “Pleasure”.

They’d look the same.

A table, full

Of food and wine and flowers

Of people gathered around it.

“Purpose” would show the joy of feasting.

Communion, community, deep conversation.

Hearts and bellies full.

A glimmer of church around a table.

“Pleasure” would show the gluttony of feasting.

Consumption, carelessness, temporary comfort.

Hearts and bellies unsatisfied,

Wanting more and more to fill an emptiness

That cannot be filled without purpose.

Maybe I’d paint them in different light,

Maybe at different angles,

Or maybe they’d look the exact same.

But the heart behind each is different.

Pleasure is for the moment,

Purpose has longevity.

Pleasure leaves us longing,

Purpose leaves us content.

Pleasure brings us a temporary high,

Purpose brings us peace.

When we don’t know our purpose, we distract ourselves with pleasure. The balance of purpose and pleasure has been weighing on my mind lately. Both are good things! There is nothing better than to eat and drink and be joyful. But the thing is, pleasure doesn’t satisfy us. At least not fully.

For example, we eat a balanced meal with the intent of filling ourselves up so we can be well-nourished and have energy for the day. Maybe we have a little treat afterward, but dessert is not the thing that sustains us for the hours ahead. We drink water with the intent of quenching our thirst. We drink wine for many different reasons, but hydration is not one of them. As good as it is, it only makes us thirstier.

Similarly, we want a balanced life, a full life. If we are running around chasing all of its little pleasures, we will have moments of happiness, but once the moment is gone we will only hunger for more. If we figure out how to live a life with purpose, our hearts will be sustained.

According to King Solomon in Ecclesiastes, our God-given task is this:

“There is nothing better for them than to be joyful and do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.” - Ecclesiastes 3:12-13

Notice that first we are supposed to be joyful and do good. God wants us to have a life that’s full of joy and good things, and he wants us to do good. To love and serve Him and others. He wants us to enjoy creation, to eat and drink and feast, but that isn’t our purpose. Those pleasures come from our purpose. Our work and toil.

I really do believe that my purpose is being around a table with people. Practicing hospitality, cultivating conversation, showing love, being a friend. That’s why I am studying wine! There’s a fine line between pleasure and purpose, especially in this industry. But knowing my purpose makes being in the world of wine so much sweeter.

Pleasure does not bring us purpose, but purpose does bring us pleasure. So eat, drink, and enjoy your life!! But do it with purpose in mind.