{"id":2053,"date":"2009-10-08T20:56:08","date_gmt":"2009-10-08T20:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/owenstrachan.com\/?p=2053"},"modified":"2009-10-08T20:56:08","modified_gmt":"2009-10-08T20:56:08","slug":"the-pleasures-of-tea-a-brief-essay-on-lifes-finer-things","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thoughtlife\/2009\/10\/the-pleasures-of-tea-a-brief-essay-on-lifes-finer-things\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pleasures of Tea: A Brief Essay on Life’s Finer Things"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"indiantea\"Now that it\u2019s nearly fall and turning cold, I wanted to take a moment to celebrate a comfort of life that we might easily pass over: tea.<\/p>\n

Now, let me just say that I did not begin life as a tea advocate.\u00a0 I paid no attention to tea until very recently.\u00a0 Now that I spend most of my days as a desk jockey, often completing writing projects that involve some measure of my limited mental energy, I find it behooves me to locate whatever legal stimulants I can find to push me on in my work.\u00a0 I observed certain people close to me drinking large amounts of tea, once decided to give it a try, and found it to my liking (Photo: NYT<\/a>).<\/p>\n

So the road that led me to tea was a pragmatic one.\u00a0 I concede this.\u00a0 Yet in becoming a tea drinker, I have come to realize that tea is in fact a most pleasurable good.\u00a0 It is hot; it is often spiced, or at least flavored; it takes a while to cool down, and thus breeds anticipation; it is not heavy at all on the stomach and is in many forms good for you; and, as mentioned, it gives one a little burst of energy if one so desires.<\/p>\n

It is difficult in this world to find a similarly enjoyable and yet similarly pleasant good.\u00a0 All too often, the things that we like, that we gravitate toward, are in some way bad for us.\u00a0 We must parse them out, have them very little, and feel (justly) guilty if we over-indulge.\u00a0 Not so with tea.\u00a0 Provided one keeps one\u2019s caffeine down, it is the friend that stays by our side, the companion that constantly warms and that never leaves us unhappy.<\/p>\n

So often, we chase the big and expensive things in life.\u00a0 We assume that because they are big and expensive they will yield the most possible happiness, the greatest possible pleasure.\u00a0 Yet as I make my way through life, I increasingly find that it is not necessarily the big and expensive that bring pleasure, but the small and inexpensive.\u00a0 For the satisfaction it brings, tea requires little sacrifice.<\/p>\n

So it is, I might point out, with spiritual blessings.\u00a0 In Christ Jesus, God has given us every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3), every single spiritual gift and good we could ever want.\u00a0 We lack for literally nothing.\u00a0 There is nothing, in a spiritual sense, that we do not have when we know Christ as our Savior.\u00a0 And yet\u2013how much does all of this cost?\u00a0 How big and expensive is it?\u00a0 For us\u2013it is nothing.\u00a0 Only our life.\u00a0 For Jesus, of course, it cost everything.<\/p>\n

Now, I don\u2019t think these theological thoughts to myself every time I drink tea.\u00a0 I wish I did.\u00a0 I don\u2019t.\u00a0 But I am aware that tea and what others have called the \u201csimple pleasures of life\u201d are in fact what they claim to be.\u00a0 They are simple, pleasant, and they, in small amounts, combine to fill life full of happiness.\u00a0 You don\u2019t need big and expensive to find joy.\u00a0 In fact, those who chase that which is big and expensive often find happiness elusive.<\/p>\n

We need the small things.\u00a0 A good scone.\u00a0 A hot cup of tea.\u00a0 Time with the kids on the floor playing beside them.\u00a0 A conversation with one\u2019s spouse on the porch, watching rain come down.\u00a0 A long hour or two with excellent literature, the kind that doesn\u2019t make you feel guilty for slowing down and re-reading.\u00a0 A carefully crafted sermon that simultaneously convicts, teaches, and exhilarates.\u00a0 A walk with a friend.\u00a0 Another cup of tea.<\/p>\n

And a Savior who has given us that which is simplest and that which is most pleasant: life, eternal life, overflowing with the experience of the unmediated grace of God.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Now that it\u2019s nearly fall and turning cold, I wanted to take a moment to celebrate a comfort of life that we might easily pass over: tea. Now, let me just say that I did not begin life as a tea advocate.\u00a0 I paid no attention to tea until very recently.\u00a0 Now that I spend […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1217,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[140],"tags":[971,13176,2645,2781],"class_list":["post-2053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-foodstuffs","tag-creature-comforts","tag-jesus-christ","tag-simple-things-of-life","tag-tea"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Pleasures of Tea: A Brief Essay on Life's Finer Things<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Now that it's nearly fall and turning cold, I wanted to take a moment to celebrate a comfort of life that we might easily pass over: tea. 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