thoughts out !oud

a Christian’s news, views, opinions and occasional poetry …

Lazy Myth: Christians don’t have fun

Posted by Mathew | 13 June 08

[Previous Lazy Myth: Religions are all the same]

Christians just don’t have fun. Christians are spoil-sports, party-poopers and kill-joys. Just when you’re starting to really unwind and enjoy yourself at the start of the weekend, your bible-thumping grandmother knocks on your front door and invites herself in for a spot of tea and some spongecake. Christians are boring; and becoming a Christian automatically renders the rest of your life as one big meadow with rolling hills where Julie Andrews sings tirade after tirade of tunes from the Sound of Music. (Disclaimer: okay. I acknowledge that, for some of you out there, that is your idea of fun, but work with me, okay?)

And further, who wants to live forever in heaven? How can that be fun? All that harp-playing and lack of controversy and gossip and the white clothes that never get spotted or streaked?

Yet, thems the charges against Christianity - being a Christian is boring. Christians give up everything to become staid and devoid of colour and individuality. Though it must be asked: exactly what does giving up ‘everything’ mean, I wonder? What exactly is it that they intend?

On the train-line I travel to and fro each weekday, I see this graffiti slogan: No sex, no drugs and no drink = no fun. I can only surmise that the stereotypical rebellious teen who penned it on a train control booth thought he was being robbed of his fun by uncaring, passionless parents, who are themselves products of a by-gone era of a stiff-necked and unprogressive society at large.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I do all three of those. Yet, the first one is the only one I’d call fun (within the bounds of marriage); the second is not for fun, but for headaches and nasty infections; and the third is nice to mellow out with, but not to excess.

So, am I to be considered un-fun by the above slogan’s definition?

Just what is meant by ‘fun’, anyway? Surely this is purely subjective. After all, I’m one of these strange people who gets a kick out of writing really complex formulae in Excel - fun for me (yes, okay … I now apologise to all you Julie Andrews/Sound of Music fans!), for others, they’d rather watch paint dry (which could be ‘fun’ for a painter … I don’t know).

Taking into consideration our little railway slogan, I would interpret, by inference, that its author believes that multiple sexual partners (either separately, or at the same time - who knows?), recreational drugs (hash, ecstasy, heroin, etc.) and drink (hard liquor or just plain ol’ binge drinking) is what is classified as fun.

To which I’d argue, no, it’s not. It’s stupid. And irresponsible. And hazardous to your health on all three fronts. ‘Fun’ does not equate to ‘irresponsible’.

With promiscuous sex, not only are there the health risks associated with having multiple partners and the chance for unwanted pregnancies, but underlying all of this is the adverse emotional impact it takes on the parties concerned (with regards to breakups). We are designed to be sexual and emotional creatures; Jesus doesn’t have an issue with this - monogamy seems pretty implicit in his teaching (Mark 10:7) as does the prohibition of fornication/promiscuity (Matthew 15:19). Sex was intentionally created by God to be enjoyed by husband and wife - to paraphrase Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church fame: before marriage, don’t do anything; after marriage, do it all, as often as you can.

On drugs and drinking, even before I became a Christian I couldn’t see the attraction to either of these for recreational purposes. Alter your mind? What on earth for? I like reality. Very much. I happen to live in it - and though it can be pretty down-right crazy at times, I’d rather be in control of my little patch and how I respond rather than surrender my control to substance abuse. And I’ve seen, first hand, the negative effects of alcoholism - not pretty and certainly not fun.

So what is fun?

Well, I have to admit that, in general, sin is fun - if it weren’t, nobody would do it, right? But as the Apostle Paul says:

Everything is permissible for me”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”—but I will not be mastered by anything. - 1 Cor 6:12

Sin is essentially that which masters you - it becomes your god. It is idolatry. And it detracts you from your design to worship the One True Living God of the Bible.

The Christian does not purely consider the physical or mental stimulation of an event or object to determine its fun factor - a Christian considers the likely consequences. Now a glass of good red is very enjoyable, but giving yourself over to a clouded, intoxicated mind renders you helpless to whatever mood strikes you. Likewise, a decent steak and chips is a great meal … but eating the same day after day will lead to trouble.

No, a Christian’s perspective on fun is about balance and about glorifying God at every opportunity. This will take form in a whole array of personal recreational pursuits, and even in the work place. Christians enjoy the same types of activities as non-Christians do, so long as those practices are God-honoring. It’s about being like-minded with the Spirit of God.

Paul continues:

“Food for the stomach and the stomach for food”—but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. - 1 Cor 6:13-16

(As for humour … well, that’s another matter of personal taste. I find Prodigal Jon over at Stuff Christians Like to be hilariously funny, however. Check him out.)

Regardless, I’ve no doubt God has a great sense of humour (examples like choosing Moses - an absolute shambles of an individual and who stuttered like anything - to confront the power of Egypt show He likes to mix things up a little). And we as His creation and in His image are free to do likewise and to be as funny as all heck.

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