"Can Christians Have Fun?"
I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God,
than to dwell in the tents of wickedness." Psalm 84:10
I think it is sad that we even have to ask, "Can Christians have fun?" A lot of people look at Christianity as restrictive and as a burden; they don't enjoy their Christianity the way God meant them to. It isn't "fun," so to speak, if we can use that word.
NOTE: I use the word "FUN" to get you thinking. Do you really enjoy being a Christian? Are you excited about being a Christian? You should be! You can be!
I want to discuss this from two angles.
First, just because you are a Christian does not mean that you cannot enjoy other things. I have a minister friend who plays tennis and plays weekly. He practices and takes it quite seriously. He still gives glory to God in his life all the time, but he likes to play tennis.
And then myself, in recent months, I have gotten into playing pool (billiards). But because of the atmosphere and other factors, we have been very careful about going to a more controlled environment where they do not allow smoking and there is minimal drinking, which is the best you can find if you play pool with other people.
We need to see that we can have fun. The thing is that we CANNOT compromise in the process and that is not always fun.
If I had to compromise to do anything, to me it would be grievous and not fun or a blessing to me. God put us here to enjoy things. God put us here to sharpen our natural skills (and use them for Him) and spiritual skills. I feel that in a lifetime there are things that God shows us so that we can minister, or things He skills us in so that we can minister to others in those fields.
Just like our jobs, some of us, myself included, have been put in jobs where we do not understand why, as Christians, we have been put there. GOD KNOWS. God is in control. He is weaving together His plan for our lives as we seek Him.
Secondly, Christians can have fun (be blessed) specifically in being a Christian. Some people go to church because they feel obligated. Some people pray because they feel obligated. Some people read their Bible because they feel obligated. Now, I will be honest, there are times when my mind is elsewhere other than church, my mind is elsewhere other than on praying, and my mind is elsewhere than on reading God's Word. But I find that church can be a lot of fun (a blessing) and quite refreshing in the Lord, to be fellowshipping with other Christians - something we all need.
God made us a body, NOT individual bodies, but a body made up of many members that includes you and me and you and your local church. It should be fun (enjoyable) to be part of the Body of Christ.
It should be fun (if I can use that word again) to read our Bibles. I love to read the Bible. I have read the Bible many, many times over my 25 years as a Christian. When I read the Bible, many times a nugget of Truth will fly off that page and touch my heart. That is fun! It is exciting to see God's Word come alive to me.
When praying, there are times when my flesh really just does not want to pray, and it sure does not look like it is going to be fun. Then there are times when I come out of prayer and I am so excited. There are other times, when prayer may not have seemed exciting when I came out of prayer, but in the coming days and weeks I saw God's hand move because of that time in prayer. Let me tell you that it is a lot of fun to see the power of prayer in the lives of those you have been praying for or in your own life.
Christianity is a serious relationship with Jesus Christ. Christianity is not to be compromised. But Christianity is fun (enjoyable and exciting). If you do not feel that way, I ask you to give your all to the Lord and ask Him to put a joy/excitement in your relationship with Him. Ask the Lord to show you that Christianity is not bondage, but joyful and exciting and "fun."
Nothing is as exciting as winning someone to the Lord.
Nothing is as exciting as seeing your prayers answered.
Nothing is as exciting as seeing the Living Word jump off the pages and touch your heart.
Nothing is as exciting as being a part of a body of believers who are so close together that sometimes it goes beyond any other relationship they have.
So I encourage you to let Christianity be joyful and exciting. Start having "fun" serving your LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!
Have a Jesus blessed week,
Jim