Harmful Fun

by David J. Webster, Liverpool, England | Category: The Disciple Life | Nov 1990

We live in a divided world. While many struggle to survive in poorer countries, there is in the richer more technically advanced nations an amazing increase in opportunities for many and varied leisure pursuits, entertainment and enjoyment in humour, laughter and relaxation, which is a definition of fun for the purpose of this article.

It is neither a virtue nor a fault to find ourselves in one or the other, but God's people who live where the multi-million pound entertainments industries are most concentrated have to learn from the principles in God's word to come to terms with it. There are opportunities to play games, listen to the radio, watch television, visit the cinema, participate in any number of sports (or just enjoy watching), take up a hobby, go dancing, do the football pools, spend an evening at the pub or just sit at home and read a novel. We can eat out, take holidays abroad or go for a walk in the countryside. At the touch of a button there is a wide choice of music available to us from classical to pop and rock. And for disciples of the Lord Jesus these things pose a problem. How much should we enjoy them? Are some of them wrong? Should we shun entertainment or be choosy? Does it depend on how much television I watch or what type of music I like? Or are these things harmful in any quantities or style?

Right or Wrong?

If the Word of God declares any pursuit to be wrong then, of course, we need look no further, and likewise if it is given approval. Drunken carousing and physical exercise provide an example of each1. But it is not always as simple as that, for there are so many grey areas upon which there is a multitude of opinions but no specific scriptures. Recognizing, however, that all forms of entertainment are "of this world" (not being part of our spiritual service) we need to examine from Scripture what that world really is and to find out what role disciples of the Lord Jesus are expected to have in the world.

One of the meanings of the Greek word kosmos, translated "the world", is "the present condition of human affairs in alienation from and opposition to God"2. It is to this use of the word that John refers when he states "the whole world is under the control of the evil one"3. Satan is the prince of this world and he stands condemned4. "But", says Jesus to His disciples, "take heart! I have overcome the world"5. The Lord Jesus in His death for us at Calvary put an end to Satan's claims upon us and freed us from bondage to this world. No wonder we are told not to love it!6 Now it is not our Saviour's will that we should be taken out of this world but that we should be protected from the evil one, and that specifically by our being sanctified7. That carries the idea of being different: separated to God from evil and of being pure and holy. Only as we appreciate these things can we begin to see the fun of this world in the light of reality. And what we see is a doomed world offering endless entertainment to spiritually bankrupt people who by their very nature are incapable of discerning the spiritual evil by which they are so easily ensnared. That's not to say that it is all bad, but that it is the product of a doomed Satanic system; and that should put us on our guard.

Pleasures that Harm

Having seen the world as a hostile environment we should not be surprised that it provides pleasures that we are to have no part in:

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking8.

They are darkened, whereas disciples of the Lord Jesus are light; they are "separated from the life of God", disciples are bound up in the life of their Saviour. The two are incompatible. "But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed"9 continued Paul, and that rules out all forms of pornography, even the so-called "soft-porn" which forms the basis of so many films, TV programmes and novels, together with gambling and lotteries in which the motive is acquisitive greed, and further on in the same passage the apostle rules out participation in obscenity, foolish talk, coarse joking and getting drunk. "Paul, you're negative and restrictive" some would argue. But not so! Read Ephesians 4:17 to 5:21 to see these prohibitions in the context of positive Christianity. The first test of anything is the degree to which it helps or hinders spiritual progress. If it is not good for us then let us throw off everything that hinders, and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run... "10. Let us touch only those forms of enjoyment which leave us spiritually alert and ready for service.

Time for Enjoyment?

In a busy life time for relaxation is essential if we are not to become ill. Enjoyment of God's world and creation, singing, dancing and music, laughter and the joy of like-minded people getting together are all enthusiastically mentioned in the Bible as legitimate enjoyment for God's people 11. Yet we know how easily we can abuse even this and an innocent pleasure can run into our devotional time or leave little or no time for service in the assembly. The New Testament pictures us as soldiers enduring hardship in a great conflict12 and as athletes in strict training13. Both are pictures of dedication and commitment and both call for self-denial. And so our Christian lives should be empty and joyless, should they? Nothing of the sort! The Lord Jesus said about His disciples, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full"14 and that is both a promise and a challenge.

A Diet of Pleasure and Entertainment

A secular magazine which arrived in my mail recently spoke enthusiastically about the last decade in the west as:

the time when the fruits of high technology entered our homes, never to be evicted. In many ways the last ten years has been preeminently the decade of the life style - there have been very few times in history when so many were able to devote so much time to thinking about the packaging rather than just the contents of their lives. Hence the fantastic boom in the products of the design business, the obsessive interest in fashion, in food, in art and all the other goodies of a hyper-affluent society.

That ties in with Paul's words to Timothy, "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money ... lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God" . It was not having a bit of well-earned relaxation that Paul was warning about but the obsessive going after pleasure, entertainments and fun that is characteristic of the world today and which is the opposite of the disciple attitude in which "the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world"16. A junk diet of pleasure and entertainment is far more harmful to our spiritual lives than all the junk food will ever be to our bodies; Perhaps a good exercise would be to write down and compare the time spent in leisure activities with the time spent in reading and meditation on the Word of God.

The Test

In Psalm 1 two ways of life are contrasted. The mark of the blessed man is his delight in the law of the Lord. Everything he does is done in the light of meditation on God's revealed will and according to God's standards. For a disciple of the Lord Jesus the true test is:

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him17.

Doing something in the name of the Lord Jesus brings His authority to it, and Jesus Christ is Lord! We are on safe ground if what we are doing is compatible with the honour and authority of "the name that is above every name"19, and if, having done it, we can genuinely thank our heavenly Father for the experience.

At Someone Else's Expense?

Even when there is clearly no violation of divine principles in relation to any particular pleasure we still need to ensure that it is not a case of our fun at the expense of another. That other could be our brother or sister. Writing about things like this Paul warned the Corinthians,

Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling-block to the weak19.

and that is a sound principle to observe in relation to our enjoyment. This does not give us the right to restrict what others do but rather provides a framework for us to honour the Lord in what we do! More seriously though that other could be the Lord Himself! Devoting time to leisure while failing to obey the command of the Lord in relation to meeting together20 is robbing God, as is needlessly spending money on entertainment while the Assembly outreach programme is curtailed through lack of funds. That is our fun at God's expense and is unthinkable for a disciple of the Lord Jesus! Examining our priorities in relation to this is as relevant now as it was in Malachi's time21.

Finally

... Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you22.

If those principles form the basis of our relaxation then we will have no fear of rebuke from the Master. May it be so for each of us.

All Bible quotations are from the New International Version.

1. Rom. 13:13 and 1 Tim. 4:8.

2. W.E. Vine.

3. 1 John 5:19.

4. John 16:11.

5. John 16:33.

6. 1 John 2:15.

7. John 17:15-17.

8. Eph. 4:17.

9. Eph. 5:3.

10. Heb. 12:1.