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Christian Fun: Did You Know There Was Such A Thing?
by Robert Baines Christian fun, as used in this article, is a reference to a believer enjoying himself or herself outside of worship, study, and service activities. Several passages of scripture shape my thinking about Christian fun. In the spirit of Ecclesiastes 3:1-4, there is a time for everything, including a time for fun. However, there is no legitimate time to sin. In the spirit of Romans 14:14-23, there is nothing in the "gray area" that is unclean of itself. God is the one who declares what is right and wrong (i.e., what is black and white instead of gray). Harming the body/temple that God has called you to take care of is sin. Harming others is sin. Being a poor steward of what God has placed in your care is sin. In the spirit of I Corinthians 10:31, whatever we do should be done to the honor of God. If you don't want God to see you then you are doing wrong. In the spirit of Romans 14:14-23, you should not sin against your conscious nor be a stumbling block to others. And in the spirit of Matthew 12:1-14, you should not let religious people control your "gray areas." You cannot be in the dance club and claim that seeing someone else is the club that you are in is a stumbling block to you (smile). Therefore, my list of what is fun may differ from yours because of how God is working with you and because of how you were raised. The following may be alright to some under the right circumstances: playing cards, bowling, a glass of wine or two (assuming that such will not make you intoxicated), and tasteful dancing (i.e., not overly revealing or sexual in nature). Christian fun is not code for using grace as a license to sin. I believe the following are wrong, because they cause harm or more harm than good: doing any of the above, if it is against your conscious; doing any of the above, if it causes offense to your brothers or sisters; and getting drunk. It is wrong to waste money that you cannot afford to waste on gambling. It is sin to have money for the casino and not for tithes and offerings. It is sin to watch X rated moves because it supports the exploitation of women and fuels lust. However, watching X rated movies or masturbating are better than having sex outside of marriage. It is sin to dress too revealingly, in front of someone other than your spouse, because it fuels lust. It is sin to dance too provocatively, with someone other than your spouse, because it fuels lust. Sex outside of marriage is sin. Let each of us make prayerful decisions about what we do for fun with the realization that we will each have to answer for our deeds at the judgment seat of Christ. On one hand, the strong should work on not being a stumbling block to the weak. And on the other hand, the weak should work on growing up to realize that we are free from the many laws of the Old Testament. Without Christian fun, the Christian journey is unnecessarily boring and difficult. Dr. Robert E. Baines, Jr. uses his doctorate of ministry degree and twenty years of pastoral experience to provide quality and helpful Christian living information to 1,000's of visitors a month. Make sure you secure your free copy of his ebooklet, "How to Encourage Yourself: 21 Practical Tips," and sign up for his newsletter that features great articles, helpful devotionals, and Bible based teaching notes at www.RobertBaines.com. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |