What is this lazy seaside place? Where the seagulls caw and the breeze rolls in. Where the waves crash, and the sand sinks in. It’s like a little place outside of time. Not concerned with the worries of the world. Not worried about anything at all in particular. Jellyfish float in, and are cast out. Sharks hunt when we sleep, and seemingly nap when the sun is high over the sky. Where people disconnect from their routines and come to turn their skin brown. Is this place real, or an illusion that invites vice?
These thoughts are platonic in nature, and are actually the problem. The beach is not the problem, it is of many good things: a beautiful place, a place to enjoy, a place to rest, to contemplate what’s next, a place to reorient, and a place to resolve, a blessing to recommit. This is the proper orientation of the mind. That our bodies are in need of a taste of paradise. To smell the salty air, to soak the skin in the salt water, and eat lots of shrimp and fish. It is all good. It serves a higher purpose: to prepare the man for the labor ahead.
So let’s not judge what God has given to us to enjoy, in moderation it serves a purpose, to ready us for the end.
EAR