Game Time

Is faith in Jesus fun? It is common for people to feel a great divide between faith and fun. We're often told that our hobbies, like playing video games or reading comic books, are just temporary distractions. We are told that we should instead be doing the more "responsible" or religious activities. But, what if play isn’t the opposite of duty?

What if God built playfulness into us from the beginning?

The creator of the world is Himself creative and playful. You can see it throughout the Bible. He designs people, not because He needs anything from us, but out of an overflow of creativity. One of His first acts with humanity is a burst of playful creativity with Adam (Gen 2:19). He goes on to have a wrestling match with Jacob (Gen 32:24, 30), talks interior design with Moses (Ex 26:1), makes pancakes for prophets (1 Kings 19:5-6) and has tea with tax collectors (Matt 9:10-13).

Like a great game designer, God lovingly wrote the code for your body, mind, and spirit (Ps 139:13-16). He designed life to be a massive sandbox full of wonder; a safe and free space to play (Ecc 2:24; Ps 104:14-15). He even made video games as part of His divine plan and provision for us (Rom 11:36). Why? Because it brings God glory and pleasure when we play WITH Him (Ps 23).

Some people are going to finish a lifetime of working FOR God without having spent much time WITH Him (Matt 7:21-23). Eternal life isn’t just a happy place to go after this life. It is a person (John 17:3; 1 John 5:11-12), and we can connect with Him right now.

This isn’t to say that we should never work, or that play is always good. But, the essence of life is to find joy in the creative developer who made us and continually blesses us with things like sunshine, music, delicious food, and even video games.

Prayer: “Lord, would you please help me to have fun with you? I want to honor you in my work and my play. Would you join me?”

Application Questions

1. Do you ever get too busy to spend time with God?
2. Do you look forward to time with God, or see it as a chore?
3. Is what you like to do for fun (gaming, etc) something you can praise and thank God for, something you can do together with Him? If so, what might that look like? If not, does that mean it’s something that dishonors Him?

Next: We’ll discuss what can get in the way of honoring God in play.