Lighten up. That's what I feel people telling me on a fairly regular basis. I suppose that sometimes I need to do just that, but only in the times when I'm taking myself too seriously, not when I'm doing the same with God. What I observe more and more as I interact with others is that there is a general sense of "lightness" that they want to walk in. "God has a sense of humor," "God isn't going to smash me if I mess up a bit," and "Knowing God isn't about religion" are phrases people love today. The hard part in speaking against them is that there's truth to all of them. But I wonder if we feel the need to say such things mostly because they tend to eliminate some of the weightiness of God and what being one of Christ's followers looks like.
To say the opposite of all the above trendy phrases and then hold to them in an unbalanced way is probably what some people fear. For instance, if all an individual or a church can see is "God is a serious God," "God kills people for sinning against Him," and "Knowing God is about doing certain things over the course of a lifetime," then some correction would need to be made, not because these statements don't have truth to them, but because they're not the whole story. But I don't think our problem is really in the believing of these "negative statements." Our problem is that we want to see God and the Christian life as things that fit into our current comfortableness. The problem though is that God doesn't fit.
But since I'm not so sure that I really need to do a lot of lightening up (at least in the way people think I do) is the ultimate aim in the Christian walk to be serious all the time? I don't think so, at least if we mean that there must be constant sternness or a continual lack of emotion. "Rejoice in the Lord always!" (Phil. 4:4). There is a glad, emotion-filled tenor to this and many other statements in Scripture (It could even be argued that such is the nature of every word in the canon.)! But even in the verse mentioned, there is a specific type of rejoicing that is to be done: a rejoicing in the Lord.
And so what of recreation? The point that I'm slowly getting to here is that in our desire for lightness, in our passion for recreation in general, there is a tendency to recreate apart from God rather than in Him. This is why when we have "free time" (perhaps a troubling phrase in and of itself) we don't usually read our Bibles, get lost in prayer, or share Jesus with our neighbor. We instead prefer TV, movies, video games, "vegging out," or reading fluff. There would certainly be many objections to that last statement due to the legalistic way that I stated it, but think of it this way: If we endeavor to live lives where we are God-motivated in all things, does that not mean that we should recreate in ways that would flow from a seeking for His guidance and a desire to move in such a way that we would be closer to Him? Do our souls really pant for Him as a deer pants for streams of water (Psalm 42:1)? The reality is that when we feel the need to recreate, our souls are panting for something to refresh us. So again, the question is, "What will I recreate in that I might be closer to the One who satisfies?" It is not enough to satisfy ourselves with "safe" things, but with those things that God, through His Spirit, directs us in. A list won't do what wisdom must do. "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is" (Eph. 5:15-17).
Lord, help me to be God-motivated in my recreation, to seek wisdom from You in how this plays out, and to never seek time away from You in my pursuit of refreshment.
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