Eat, Drink And Be Yourself

   A national restaurant chain has for its latest advertisement slogan, "Eat, drink, and be yourself."  As some slogans can be, that one is pretty harmless sounding.  I wonder if the executives have taken the time to look into the background of the saying.  Without doubt, it makes many people think of the saying, "Eat, drink, and be merry."  This was the counsel the rich farmer gave himself in a parable Jesus tells.  Luke records it, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions." And He told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?' Then he said, 'This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry." ' But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?' So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God" (Luke 12:15-21).   This is the same attitude of life briefly adopted by Solomon in his experiment to find life's meaning (cf. Ecc. 8:15).  He found it was not, "Eat, drink, and be merry."  The rich farmer, through God's extreme measures, learned the same truth.  Paul quoted the Epicurean philosophy, "let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die" (1 Cor. 15:32), to show the futility of life if Christ is not raised but the futility of such a philosophy since He did.
   So many today have a self-absorbed philosophy that preaches, "Eat, drink, and be yourself."  "Be merry."  "Tomorrow, we may die, so get all of what you can while you can."  Just remember that such an outlook on life does not have a promising outcome!  We are not here to party.  We are here to prepare what is to come.

 

Neal Pollard