Geography students after traveling around the world by books
were asked to list what they considered the seven wonders of the
world. It was a hard decision but such things as Egypts Great
Pyramids, The Taj Mahal, The Grand Canyon, and The Great Wall of
China, were getting a lot of votes.
The teacher noticed that one of her students, a quiet girl, had not
entered into the discussion. " Are you having trouble," she asked, and
the girl said, "I couldn't make up my mind because there are so
many." "Well tell us what you have," the teacher urged. She stood to
her feet and read from her paper-"I think the seven wonders of the
world are to touch and to taste, to see and to hear, and then to run and
to laugh and to love."
This little girl was tuned into a different channel and she was
sharing wonders that are indeed greater marvels than any of the
so-called 7 wonders of the world. None of them would be anything
without those gifts of God that enable us to wonder at them and enjoy
them. She was listing wonders not limited to one place in the
geography of the world, but to those wonders that God has given to
those made in His image all over the world.
Her seven wonders are more wonderful because they are not just in
one place, but in every place. I don't know what her teachers response
was to her answer, but our text tells us that God's response is a hearty,
heavenly amen!
This chapter of Zechariah is God's description of the ideal life for
His people. It is a picture of just how good it can be when he blesses
His people. We want to focus on just a few of the details. Notice in verse 5,
God says His ideal of the perfect city is one where
the city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there. Then in
verse 19 He says the fasts will be changed to festivals and become glad
and joyful occasions.
There is something about this chapter that gives you the sneaking
suspicion that God loves fun, and He loves His people to have fun.
This may seem a little too light hearted, but I intend to show that fun
is fundamental to God's nature, and His plan for man.
This subject is so vast in Scripture that my hardest task was to
figure out how to limit it. The entire message could be devoted to just
quoting Bible verses on gladness, delight, joy, and feasting. I was so
overwhelmed with the number of texts dealing with the feelings of
having fun that I couldn't get a handle on it until I discovered the
word play, which is a synonym for fun. It is the Hebrew word for the
children playing in the streets, and it is the ideal word for study
because it is used only a few times in the Bible in referring to the
feeling of playfulness. Let me share with you the context of these few
verses on play.
God seems to be in a playful mood as He responds to Job, and asks
Him all kinds of questions about His creation. In Job 40:20 God is
speaking of one of His largest creatures, either the Hippopotamus or
Elephant, and He says, "The hills bring him their produce, and all the
wild animals play nearby." A few verses later God is really getting
into the fun of making Job see his physical insignificance compared to
His great creature called the leviathan, and in 41:5 He asked Job,
"Can you make a pet of him like a bird or put him on a leash for your
girls?" This same Hebrew word for play is used there for "make a
pet of him." Jehovah is joking with Job just as we do when we see a
creature like Godzilla, or some other monster, and say, " wouldn't he
make a great pet?"
What we have here is God's acknowledgment that the playfulness
we see in the animal kingdom is not an accident, nor is it a part of the
fall. The playfulness of creatures that makes us enjoy the zoo, and
nature films, and pets, is built into the animal kingdom by God. It is
part of His plan that man should enjoy the playfulness of animals and
have them as pets, and enter into the fun of play with them. We don't
have time to persue this-we are just taking a peak. But this peak tells
us why we enjoy our pets. It is because God made them to be playful.
In Psalm 104:26 the psalmist is describing God's vast creation, and
then He comes to the sea, teaming with creatures, and He says,
"There the ships go to and fro, and the leviathan, which you formed to
frolic there." Frolic is the same Hebrew word for play. We went to
Sea World in Florida and saw how man can build great buildings and
bodies of water for the sea creatures to frolic in and give people
enjoyable entertainment. The Bible says the oceans are God's
playground for these same creatures. The only reason they can be
trained to play games and do tricks for our entertainment is because
God made them with this capacity to have fun and to play.
The Jewish rabinical tradition says that God made leviathan as a
play thing. God delights in His creatures, and some of them may have
no other purpose than to delight the creator. God has fun with His
creation, and the reason we are to respect and to conserve it is
because it is God's toybox with delights to give pleasure to God and
man.
Even if we did not have verses to say so, it would be a logical
supposition that if God enjoys the playfulness of the animal kingdom,
He must also enjoy the playfulness of man. But we do have text that
illustrate this reality. In Isa. 11 we get another of God's descriptions
of an ideal earthly environment. Note how the child will be able to
play with the animal kingdom, and not just our present day domestic
pets, but the animals that now are dangerous. Verses 6-9 say, "The
wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the
calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead
them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down
together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play
near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the
viper's nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy
mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the
waters cover the sea."
In other words, where God is fully known there is play without
pain. It is all joy and pleasure, and all that God has made works
together in harmony, and evil is absent completely. All of the
childhood fantasies of playing with the animal kingdom, and leading
them like a Tarzan will be fulfilled. These fantasies that led Walt
Disney to produce his movies are not a part of the fall, but are a part
of that playful image of God in which man was originally made. God
anticipates this future ideal with the same pleasure you anticipate an
adventure of fun with your children. You want your children to have
fun, and God wants the same for His children.
Playfulness is a part of Godliness, but we seldom see the Biblical
picture of it. Because we lack this Biblical foundation we sometimes
feel guilty when we engage in play. This is not all bad, for we need to
keep in mind we are dealing with a paradox. There is another side to
play that is dangerous and destructive. Like any other value, when it
becomes an idol, it becomes a curse. We need to keep a balance so
that we do not lose Gods best because we abuse playfulness. But on
the other hand some Christians go the other way and quote Paul, "Set
your affections on things above and not on the things of the earth",
and use this as a basis for rejecting the enjoyment of earthly play. In
reality, when we set our affection on things above, we see clearly the
nature of God which enables us to wisely choose what is consistent
with that nature.
When you set your affections on things above,
You will come to know
That he who is light and life and love
Also has affections for things below.
God delights in the same things we do-the playfulness of animals,
the fun of children, and the festivities of adults. Celebrating is one of
the ways that men praise God. In II Sam 6:5 the Hebrew word for
play is again used. "David and the whole house of Israel were
celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with songs and with
harps, lyres, tamborines, sistrums, and cymbals." The ark of God had
been returned and they were celebrating. When the prodigal son
returned there was also a celebration with song, dance, and feasting.
Even the angels of heaven get into the mood and rejoice when the
sinner repents.
The point is, there is fun in victory. There is the feeling we ought to
celebrate and sing, and have pleasure when God blesses, and God
delights in our feeling this way. Fun is a part of the total worship
experience, and because this is so, we need not fear that heaven will
ever be boring, for with eternal worship there will also be eternal fun.
Prov. 8:30-31 is the last text on positive play that we want to look
at. It is again in the context of God's creating the wonders of the
world. Wisdom is present and wisdom says in the Hexapla translation
of the O.T. "Then I was at His side as a small child; then I was all
delight, daily playing before Him the whole time, playing on His earth,
taking my delight in the children of men." The picture is one we too
seldom consider. God had fun creating the world. The Son and the
angels and wisdom all enjoyed it as well. It was like a great
celebration-a day of play as all heaven entered into the delight of
watching God set up the largest playground ever. It is the picture of
children watching with delight as the circus is set up, and all the
preparations are made for a great time of fun.
God did not lose his delight in play because of the fall. His goal is
to overcome the effects of the fall and get back to a world of fun
without sin. On the day of Pentecost Peter preached his great message
that won 3,000 to Christ and he quoted David as referring to Christ
and His resurrection. He says in verses 26-28, "Therefore my heart is
glad and my tongue rejoices; my body will also live in hope, because
you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One
see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill
me with joy with your presence." The word for joy here is used only
two times in all the N.T. It is the word from which we get our English
word euphoria. It covers all the emotions we refer to by gladness,
cheerfulness, happiness, delight and joy.
This text tells us that God's plan was for Jesus to experience these
emotions forever in His presence. Jesus knew how to enjoy life and to
enjoy children playing. He could have pleasure at the parties he
attended, and He could add to the delight of others as He did at the
wedding of Cana. The only other place that same Greek work is used
is in Acts 14. Paul and Barnabas healed a crippled man at Lystra.
The people there thought for sure they were gods who had come down,
and the priests of the temple of Zeus came to offer sacrifices to them.
Paul was shocked, and pleaded with them to see that they were
only human too. Then he shared the good news of the living God who
loved them and who had been blessing them in so many ways. In verse
17 he says God has not left himself without a witness-"He has shown
kindness by giving rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; He
provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy." Joy is
the same word used for the joy of Jesus. Keep in mind, these are
pagan people, and Paul is saying their joy, or euphoria, has been the
gift of God.
This text makes it clear that God made man the same way He made
the creatures of the field and the sea. He made them with the
capacity for fun and play so they could enjoy the good things of life. It
is a universal feeling-this feeling of well-being called euphoria. It is
God's gift to all men, and this needs to be recognized, for Paul used it
as a tool of evangelism. We do too, but we do not recognize the
Biblical basis of what we are doing. All evangelism efforts use fun as
fundamental.
I do not know of a camp ministry that would survive a season if it
was not for fun. Take away swimming, boating, ball games, ping pong,
bikes, and other sports; take away all the fun and see how people will
stay away in droves. You couldn't pay kids to come to a camp where
fun is not fundamental. Every youth group and organization in the
world knows this. If there is no plan for fun you can forget planning
anything else.
It is not just kids who need it, but adults do as well. The reason we
enjoy musical groups is because it is fun. It is fun to be uplifted. It is
fun to be aided in praising God. Music is a recognized form of play.
The same word we have been studying for play in the Bible is most
often used for playing instruments. Music is played and enjoying it is
playing. That is why every great evangelist has music. It is fun to
hear good music, and so the fun of music is a key element in attracting
people to Christ.
If Christianity is not fun it is not pleasing to God nor man. We too
often think fun and play is a secular side of life. It is good for a break
until we get back to the important and serious stuff of life. This
concept is too bad for it leads Christians to not take fun seriously.
They do not see it as a vital part of their spirituality, and a key value
for which they can praise God. We need to see that fun is fundamental
in all the relationships of life; with animals, friends, family groups of
all kinds, and even God.
Why did Jesus say we must become as little children to enter the
kingdom of heaven? We usually hear it is because the child is so
innocent, and so full of simple faith. This is no doubt part of it, but
what about a child's playfulness? That is what childhood is, the time
of life when they learn to play. Did Jesus ever play? Francis
Thompson asks,
Hadst thou ever any toys
Like us little girls and boys?
And didst thou play in heaven with all
The angels that were not too tall,
With stars for marbles. Did the things
Play can you see me? Though their wings?
We could quote hours of poetry dealing with the childhood of Jesus,
but all we know for sure is that He was a growing boy who had fun. It
is inconceivable that Jesus did not play and have fun as a child on
earth. When He was left behind in the temple, Mary and Joseph
assumed He was with some of their relatives, giving us the clear hint
that Jesus must have often been off playing with other children. We
are told today that how a child learns to play is vital to developing
their identity. If they do not learn to enjoy play they will become too
serious as adults. Some do skip childhood and never learn to play.
This leads to an adult who does not know how to enjoy life.
On the other hand if they do nothing but play, and are never taught
that life is more than a game, they tend to become irresponsible
playboys or playgirls. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,
but all play and no work makes him a jerk.
Any psychiatrist will tell you that one of their most common clients is the
person who has nothing to do but play. They lack the pleasure of work and achieving
goals and they eventually become depressed for the lack of meaning in
life. Play must always be balanced with a purpose pleasing to God or
it becomes a burden rather than a blessing.
In the childhood of man when God put Adam and Eve in the garden
of Eden, there was balance. They had the delight of enjoying all the
pleasures of play and eating, but God also gave them the work of
keeping the garden. Extremes of being workaholics or playboys are
both contrary to God's will. Work and play in balance is the key to a
happy life. Dwight D. Eisenhower said to students at Columbia
University, where he became president in 1948, "Have fun. I mean it.
The day that goes by without your having had some fun-the day you
don't enjoy life-is not only unnecessary but unchristian!"
In the light of our study, we can say his statement was Biblically
accurate for the Bible clearly teaches that we can never be all that
God made us to be without fun, for fun is fundamental. But keep in
mind that it is fun to be a child of God. It is fun to be saved and to be
forgiven. It is fun to be sanctified and growing in the knowledge of
God. It is fun to be in Christian service. There is joy in serving Jesus.
Fun is a broad concept that takes in many aspects of life that are
pleasing to God. God is a fun-loving God and we need to take fun
seriously and make it a vital part of our Christian life, and be praising
God for it continually, for fun is fundamental.
