A theology of fun

Is the Christian life all hard work, service and slog? What place does recreation and fun have in the purposes of God?

The Christian life is a serious business. We are conscious that we live in the last days. Now is not the time for self-indulgent and sinful pleasures. Rather we consecrate our gifts, our money, our very lives into the service of our great King. As redeemed sinners, we confess that we are 'not our own - we have been bought at a price'.

The New Testament urges us now to 'redeem the time' (or 'make the most of every opportunity', NIV) because the days are evil. We have an urgent commission to fulfil - to serve the Lord, to make our Saviour known, to glorify God in the church and in the world. Our moments, and our money, are to be carefully stewarded to the service of our Master. Was it not Luther who stewarded every five minutes carefully to the glory of God? And was it not Wesley who scrupulously gave away his whole income except that small amount which was necessary for essentials?

In contrast, the spirit of self-indulgence is the spirit of the world, and of unbelief. It is the careless boast of this world to declare, 'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die'. That is the testimony of someone who knows nothing of the reality of judgement, of heaven and hell, and the pressing demands of serving our Lord. Our unbelieving friends and neighbours may waste their lives in a flood of pleasure-seeking self-indulgence, but the New Testament urges us not to join them in such a 'flood of dissipation'.

Christian rest

So the Christian life is characterised by diligent work and service. But is there any space for rest and leisure? Certainly we must rest. The Scriptures command the Sabbath, or in New Testament terms the Lord's Day, to be a day celebrated 'to the Lord'. We are to stop working, and exclude work and commercial gain and activity and thinking about duties and responsibilities and focus on the Lord. Christians are not to be workaholic Marthas (and Martha in her kitchen, remember, was engaged in useful and practical service of her Lord), but we are to take time to join with Mary at the feet of the Saviour and to devote ourselves exclusively to him. Because it is there that real refreshment is to be found (Psalm 1.2-3). While the activist may accomplish much and be busy in many 'Christian' activities, yet there is a grave danger that without space for devotion he will have an empty heart, and an empty soul. The church at Ephesus was renowned for its hard work, but was rebuked by our Lord for losing its first love. Even the work of great prophets and mighty zealots may be condemned as useless if it lacks that quality of love (1 Corinthians 13.1-3).

Those principles, then, are clear. We are to work hard, and to rest and worship the Lord. But is there place for anything else in the Christian life? To state it plainly, is there any place for fun? Can any units of five minutes and financial resources be squandered on anything which is not entirely serious? Does Christianity make any place for hobbies or pastimes (dubious expression indeed!), or simply relaxing and laughing with friends?

Our first reaction must be cautious. We are only too well aware of the temptations and dangers of sloth and self-indulgence. It was the rich fool who said 'Take life easy, eat, drink and be merry' (Luke 12.19). There is no commendation in the Scriptures for those who live for the weekend, whose focus in life is their coming holidays or early retirement. It is too easy to become a lover of pleasure rather than a lover of God (2 Timothy 3.4). And that sort of leisure is ultimately both futile and destructive (Ecclesiastes 2.1-3).

Surely it is better to 'redeem the time' - and by that we mean to make every moment useful. But if we follow that logic to the limit, then we end up as utilitarians. Someone who is a utilitarian believes that something only has value if it is useful. So our time is only well spent doing something useful and productive and work-related. Our money is only well spent if it can be accounted for in the cause of the Kingdom. The utilitarian understands the language of work. Even the utilitarian understands the value of rest (we all have to sleep sometimes!). And the Christian utilitarian may even understand the value of worship and devotion to the Lord.

But is it ever right for a Christian just to have fun? There are some clear indications in the Bible that indeed our God is not only the Lord of work and rest, but also of enjoyment.

The joy of creation

First of all, consider the playfulness of God's own creation which he made for his own pleasure. The spring lambs and other creatures 'play' together, Job 40.20. Even the sea monster was formed by God to 'frolic' in the ocean, Psalm 104.26. (And if the Lord created him to frolic, it is only for the Lord's pleasure that he does so. The Lord alone is great enough to sport with him! (Job 40.15-41.34)).

Then think of the wonderful diversity, beauty and art of God's created order. Think, for example, of the variety of animals, and plants, and birds. Why did God create so many, of such different types and species? And why did the Lord see fit to create so many different colours? (He could have made the world in black and white if he had been pleased to do so.) And why should birds sing in an attractive way? What use are flowers? These things are a great puzzlement to the utilitarian because they do not seem to perform a strictly useful purpose. They are almost as pointless as ornaments on a mantelpiece (which only gather dust and are therefore a waste of time and money). But God is no utilitarian, because he created an indulgent abundance of colourful flowers which seem to serve no useful purpose but for enjoyment. Then what on earth is the point of having butterflies with their large and multicoloured wings? Doubtless they perform some useful function in the food chain in collecting nectar and pollen and in their turn being eaten by birds. But if God had made them only for a functional purpose then he could have made protein pellets with very simple wings.

When Jesus addresses those who are burdened with the stresses and anxieties and burdens of working life (bowed down by necessary duties and responsibilities) he draws our attention to precisely these aspects of the created order. 'Consider... the birds of the air... the lilies of the field'.

Or we could yet think of the variety and colour and flavour of our food and drink to be enjoyed. 'Wine to gladden the heart of man, and oil to make his face shine.' This is a far cry from a merely functional diet! And Jesus was not averse to enjoying food and drink - which his opponents exaggerated into a slur of gluttony and drunkenness (Luke 7.34).

Will heaven be boring?

Then when we are translated from this world to the new heavens and the new earth, do we believe that life will be any less full of interest and enjoyment? The prophets use the language of children playing in the streets, of singing and dancing, of joy and gladness and abundance (Zechariah 8.5, Jeremiah 31.12-14).
So here is ample evidence that there is a place for enjoyment of life, beyond mere work and rest. There can be times of fun for the Christian without feeling guilty. More than that, we can enjoy ourselves to the glory of our joyful God. And if we are so intense that our time is managed to the last minute and all our moments are useful moments, then we are more intense and serious than God would have us be. We will be giving a monochrome witness to the God who made a multicoloured world.

There is a place for leisure. And that leisure is not to be so intense as to be merely another sort of utilitarian occupation. There is an unnerving intensity of those who use their 'leisure time' at the gym only to gaze at computer readouts of time spent on each machine, calories consumed, power generated and muscles developed. As someone has observed, 'The lack of carelessness in our recreation, the sense of obligation to get things right, and the emphasis on protocol and decorum do represent an enslavement of a kind. People used to "play" tennis; now they "work" on their backhand.' (Rybczynski quoted in Ryken's Redeeming the time, p.65).

Too much, too little...

The key, of course, is balance. There are some of us prone to sloth who will be tempted to make fun and leisure too large a part of our lives, and time and money is too easily diverted from proper and useful work and service. But there are others who are too intense, too utilitarian, too workaholic. So passionately concerned to work and serve with urgency that their service lacks an element of humanity.

There has to be space for fun. It should be woven into the fabric of our lives. Family times can be fun times. Leisure times can be opportunities for friendship and fellowship. And a proper view of leisure will make us better servants. As Spurgeon notes so memorably: 'Look at the mower in the summer's day, with so much to cut down ere the sun sets. He pauses in his labour - is he a sluggard? He looks for his stone, and begins to draw it up and down his scythe, with 'rink-a-tink - rink-a-tink - rink-a-tink'. Is that idle music - is he wasting precious moments? How much he might have mown while he has been ringing out those notes on his scythe! But he is sharpening his tool, and he will do far more when once again he gives his strength to those long sweeps which lay the grass prostrate in rows before him.' (Lectures to my students, 1st series, p.174).

So our work and leisure are not at odds, but helpers of each other. We are to enjoy both work and leisure to the glory of our God.

The reasons for recreation

Christian rest

The joy of creation

Will heaven be boring?

Too much, too little...

Bill James

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