But let me rephrase the question one more time, to broaden the application.
“Should our fun be worship?” Well, now the answer must surely be yes. We’re told in 1 Cor. 10:31 that whether we eat or drink, or whatever we do, we’re to do it all for the glory of God. Rather than focusing on making our corporate worship fun, maybe we should spend more time making sure our “fun” is worship.
Here are some questions that can lead us in that direction.
- Do I choose a fun activity because there’s nothing else to do, or because I believe it will in some way cause me to grow in my love for God?
- When I play games, participate in sports or pursue a hobby, does my attitude demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit?
- When I go out with a group of friends, am I seeking just to have fun, or to glorify God through encouraging them, challenging sin and serving them?
- Do the activities I consider “fun” increase my affections for God or dilute them?
- Do I view my free time as belonging to me or to God?
The fun this world offers is unsatisfying, deceptive and temporary. Let’s not idolize it or imagine that God offers nothing better. As Christians, we can enjoy fun activities without believing they’re the root of our happiness. The joy we experience when worshiping God together is greater than the world will ever know, because the root is knowing our sins have been paid for through the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ and we worship a risen and reigning Savior.
Our joy is ultimately in God himself. We’d be fools to look for it anywhere else.
For more on this topic, download the following messages from the Sovereign Grace Ministries website:
Worshiping God as the Source of All Secondary Joys by Randy Alcorn
A Biblical Understanding of Leisure by Jeff Purswell
