Let’s Have Some Fun
Men, it’s time. The people who have the most to be happy about (Christ-followers), are the biggest sour pusses. We take everything, especially ourselves, so seriously. We have every reason to be ‘loose as a goose’, yet we live tight as Nick Saban’s underwear.
We didn’t start out this way. We used to play. A game got started and we were in it. Laughing, yelling, picking on each other…we’d find a way to make just about anything fun. But we grew up. It got serious. And so did we.
Jesus, in Matthew 18…And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Change. Become like little children. Not just to enter the kingdom of heaven, but to be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. What can we learn from kids? How do children master the art of fun?
1. Children are trusting – They believe they’re safe.
2. Children are worry-free…because they feel safe, they just live.
3. Children live in the moment. They’re oblivious to yesterday and tomorrow.
4. Children ignore what other people think.
5. Children let their imaginations run free, in part because they aren’t ‘balled up’ with what other people think.
6. Children are not cognizant of time. They don’t feel rushed or in a hurry.
7. Children flip from one thing to another quickly. They don’t always have to finish stuff, defend their decisions, or plan for the next new thing.
8. Children are forgiving. They can have a spat and get over it in minutes.
9. Children are active. They move around. They rarely sit still.
10. Children are helpless and dependent….they just don’t know it. They have fathers and mothers who look out for them, which enables all of the above.
I’m not going to insult you by spitting out some list of things to do to be more like a child and have more fun. This is something I’m working on myself (My daughter recently told me I’ve gotten pretty ‘intense’….she’s now out of the will!).
Three huge enemies of fun…..
1. Utility – Real fun, which includes laughter, forgetting about stuff, being ‘in the moment’ rarely happens when you’re focused on making progress. Fun happens when we ‘lay our burdens down’ and do something that’s not utilitarian.
2. Chronology – We’re time-crunched and schedule-driven. Fun won’t squeeze itself into our lives. We’ve got to open up some time (I don’t mean 15 minutes) and look around for opportunities to do something we haven’t done since childhood. To create and play a practical joke on someone. To pick up something we loved to do and do it again. To watch funny cat videos on YouTube (What’s wrong with that?).
3. Image management – We’re hung up by what other people think. “Will they think I’m an idiot if I sign up for the PTA talent show?” Who cares? Fun involves taking risk. “This might not go well but I’m going to try it anyhow.”
When did you last take a day just to play? Or even an hour? When did you last initiate a game with your kids and not much care what the clock said? When was the last time you pulled a practical joke on someone? Or did something stupid just for a laugh?
Jesus loved children and children loved Jesus. Children aren’t drawn to sour pusses. Maybe that’s a clue.
Question: Will you spend some time this week scheming? Coming up with a couple of things that might just be fun for yourself, your coworkers or your family? Tell us what you did here, but only if it was fun!
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Responses (2)
Now there is a list of things I have to do to have fun? Isn’t fun supposed to be easy?
You know I need this more than anyone you know.
love, charlie
Let’s work on this together!