A few weeks ago I encouraged people to stop wasting time on their phones. Phones have become one of the easiest sources of entertainment we have, and many of us turn to them when we want to have fun. So when Christians start talking about the dangers of phones, it can be easy to hear “Having fun is sinful.” There are even those who are racked with guilt because they feel it displeases God to play a sport, listen to music, or watch a movie if there’s no objective spiritual benefit to it.
So let’s talk about why we may think having fun is wrong, then look at fun through a biblical worldview.
Why are there fun-hating Christians?
Christians can give the impression that all we want to do is sit around and think really hard about Jesus. When we’re together, our conversations should only be focused on the Bible. As we think about life we should reflect on how sinful we are and how evil the world is. While the pagans are out partying, drinking, and having sex, we should fill every free moment with Bible study or some form of obvious service to God.
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
In other words, we assume that if we’re having fun, we’re somehow being selfish and not giving glory to God. We can get so wrapped up in focusing on God’s wrath and holiness that we assume our whole lives need to be marked by repentance, guilt, and sorrow over our own wretchedness. We assume that any form of fun is simply a distraction from our attention to God.
And as we read the Bible, it’s easy to find reinforcement for that way of thinking.
- While Moses was receiving the 10 Commandments, Israel was partying
- The Old Testament is filled with examples of Israel turning from God and pursuing their own desires
- In Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 Solomon warns against the futility of seeking pleasure
- Later in Ecclesiastes 7:2-4 he says it’s better to be in a house of mourning than feasting because one keeps our mind on reality while the other is a distraction
- “Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.” (Proverbs 21:17)
- Galatians 5:19-21 paints a picture of all the activities that our flesh desires to participate in, and most of them are what people do for fun
- Romans 12:2 and James 4:4 could make us feel guilty for participating in anything that sinners find enjoyable
- 1 Peter 4 paints the Christian life as one of suffering and seriousness, seeming to leave no room for laughter and lightheartedness
If the world calls something good, we should immediately call it evil. If something is popular, it must be wrong. If we’re having fun, we aren’t seriously thinking about God.
With a poor balance in our theology, it’s easy to overemphasize the dangers of having fun and finding enjoyment in “normal” activities like hobbies, reading fiction, or creating art. It’s not hard to make a case for beating people down if they’re having fun, questioning just how seriously they take their walk with Christ. We can use the Bible to make ourselves, and others, miserable.
Of course, we don’t follow God to have fun or be happy. If He calls for us to be miserable and paint a perpetual frown on our faces, then we’ll do it gladly (though not too gladly, of course). Thus, we must ask ourselves if God truly has a problem with Christians having fun.[
Fun to the glory of God
I can’t speak for all teachers and preachers, but it’s understandable why it seems like many over-emphasize the danger of pleasure-seeking. As human beings, it’s much more likely that we’ll find too much of our satisfaction or identity in things we do for fun, detracting from our focus on God. Thus, we more often hear warnings against an extreme dependance on fun and enjoyable things.
And while the Bible seems filled with warnings about fun, God also makes it difficult to be the grumpy, downtrodden, fun-hating people the world thinks we are.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7)
Christ doesn’t call us to a life of happiness. Instead, our lives are to be marked by a kind of joy that is wholly unique and not of this world. We are to have a peace and excitement about life because of who Jesus Christ is, regardless of our circumstances. Of course, joy and peace aren’t the same as having fun, but they do give us an understanding of how God wants His people to think about life, and it’s clearly not meant to be done with a frown.
And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. (Genesis 2:2-3)
Although God wasn’t tired from His work in creation, He nevertheless set the example of the importance of not always being at work. God didn’t design us to always be on the go, but to instead stop, recharge, and enjoy His blessings.
He would later even give Israel a law to rest. Although Israel’s laws aren’t binding on us today, the principle of purposeful rest is one we ought to consider. God doesn’t intend for us to work ourselves into the grave. God gives a world of enjoyable things that show His goodness and grace, and it seems He desires for us to glorify Him by resting and, perhaps, even having fun.
Beyond God wanting His people to rejoice and find rest, Christ’s first miracle also shows us our God’s take on having fun. In John 2:1-11 Christ was at the third day of a wedding feast. Tragedy struck when the wine ran out, but Christ supplied enough to keep the feast going:
When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. (John 2:9-11)
What’s interesting here is that Christ didn’t stand up and preach against the dangers of getting drunk (see this article for the difference between drinking and drunkenness), nor did He just quietly pack up and leave when the wedding feast seemed to be at an end. Instead, we see that Christ turned water into really good wine; He enhanced the fun and enjoyment of the party by providing something essential in that culture.
But this isn’t the only wedding celebration we see in the Bible. In Revelation 19:6-10 John is shown a great multitude rejoicing and singing about the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” (Revelation 19:9)
Our relationship to Christ is seen in the ancient custom of marriage. A man would enter into a marriage contract by paying the dowry for his bride, and about a year later he would return in a miniature parade to complete his marriage vows (as we see in the parable of the ten virgins). Finally, once the couple was married, they would have a multi-day celebration of the new marriage. This wouldn’t have been filled with people getting riotously drunk, nor would it have people somberly sitting around and quietly chewing their meal. It would have been a genuine celebration.
By understanding those ancient customs, we can better understand how incredible our own marriage feast will be. We will celebrate alongside all the other saints, rejoicing about the goodness and mercy of the Father who saved us through Jesus Christ. We won’t just be sitting down for a nice meal, making small talk with the people close to us. Of all the things Christ could do with His saints after He pulls us from this Earth, we get to look forward to a full-blown celebration.
Yes, God calls for us to think seriously about the world and not get distracted by frivolous pleasures that compromise our purpose on Earth. But if we sit at that extreme, we’ll miss the good things God gives us in our lives. So how do we balance having fun without having too much fun?
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
If our fun isn’t something illegal or clearly against the will of God, I think we can safely let it fall under the umbrella of “whatever you do.” So whether we’re enjoying sports, gardening, playing games with friends, or reading a good book, we don’t need to feel guilty about the simple act of doing it. When we’re having fun, we can be thankful to God for enabling it. When we’re tempted to get too competitive we can be reminded of our desire to be a good representative on Earth and point others to Jesus Christ. When we’re tempted to over-indulge or let fun come before our responsibilities, our call to serve Christ in all we do will correct the pull of turning something fun into an idol.
So we can have fun to the glory of God, keeping an eye on our sinful desires to take something good and making it a sin for us. In my next article we’ll finish this discussion by getting a new perspective on what fun really is and how it’s different from the distraction we so often settle for.
