God is Opposed to Fun
Interesting message by Pastor Randy this weekend in church. (I wish I could include a link to it so you could listen, but apparently we didn't get it recorded.) In any case, the title of the sermon was "Myth or Truth: God is Opposed to Fun." Of course, any Christian who's any fun would say it's just a myth, but I would guess there are a lot of people who went to church when they were little who disagree. I can't tell you how many people have come to church at Hillside for the first and said something to the effect of, "I didn't know I could actually enjoy church!"
The main objection when it comes to fun is that people see Christianity as a religion of rules (as all religions are). Actually, I think they're right. I just don't believe that Jesus intended for His life and teachings to become a religion, so to speak. (Incidentally, a great book on this is "The End of Religion" by Bruxy Cavey.) Religion is about the rules and rituals, but Jesus was about relationship and restoration.
The point Randy made that I think is a good one is that, even in relationships, there are rules, but it's not the rules that are important. The rules enhance and safeguard the relationship. Our lives are much richer with deep relationships. Not only this, but God created us a certain way -- in His image. In other words, we are most ourselves when we act consistently with that image, when we're fulfilling God's purpose for us. When it comes to following Christ, rules, instead of being restrictive, are prescriptive. They tell us how we can live consistently with the image of God. When we do that, our lives will be fulfilled and even "fun."
I can think of a great example of this from a few years ago. A few of us from the church went to the park to play basketball. A short while later, another group came and wanted to play. We were glad to play with them. It ended up being "us" against "them." All started out fine, until they started making up rules. Out of bounds was no longer out of bounds, fouls were no longer fouls, traveling and double-dribble (basic basketball rules) were virtually non-existent. It got to the point where the game devolved into on big argument, so we just decided to leave.
Without the rules, the game wasn't any fun. You would think that having the freedom to make up rules would make things more fun, but I bet you could think of some examples like our basketball game where breaking the rules (or making them up) ruined the whole experience.
The purpose of basketball is not to keep the rules, but succeed within the rules. I believe the same thing about faith and life. The purpose of faith in Jesus is not to follow all the rules, but to live out who God created us to be -- in relationship with Him and in loving relationships with others (Matthew 22:34-40). When you're bent on fulfilling that purpose, you'll automatically be following the rules and I think you might even have some fun in the process.
The main objection when it comes to fun is that people see Christianity as a religion of rules (as all religions are). Actually, I think they're right. I just don't believe that Jesus intended for His life and teachings to become a religion, so to speak. (Incidentally, a great book on this is "The End of Religion" by Bruxy Cavey.) Religion is about the rules and rituals, but Jesus was about relationship and restoration.
The point Randy made that I think is a good one is that, even in relationships, there are rules, but it's not the rules that are important. The rules enhance and safeguard the relationship. Our lives are much richer with deep relationships. Not only this, but God created us a certain way -- in His image. In other words, we are most ourselves when we act consistently with that image, when we're fulfilling God's purpose for us. When it comes to following Christ, rules, instead of being restrictive, are prescriptive. They tell us how we can live consistently with the image of God. When we do that, our lives will be fulfilled and even "fun."
I can think of a great example of this from a few years ago. A few of us from the church went to the park to play basketball. A short while later, another group came and wanted to play. We were glad to play with them. It ended up being "us" against "them." All started out fine, until they started making up rules. Out of bounds was no longer out of bounds, fouls were no longer fouls, traveling and double-dribble (basic basketball rules) were virtually non-existent. It got to the point where the game devolved into on big argument, so we just decided to leave.
Without the rules, the game wasn't any fun. You would think that having the freedom to make up rules would make things more fun, but I bet you could think of some examples like our basketball game where breaking the rules (or making them up) ruined the whole experience.
The purpose of basketball is not to keep the rules, but succeed within the rules. I believe the same thing about faith and life. The purpose of faith in Jesus is not to follow all the rules, but to live out who God created us to be -- in relationship with Him and in loving relationships with others (Matthew 22:34-40). When you're bent on fulfilling that purpose, you'll automatically be following the rules and I think you might even have some fun in the process.
Labels: church, End of Religion, fun, law, Matthew 22, rules, sermon
posted by Kory at
12:40 PM
1 Comments:
Administrative: It appears we won't have audio for Randy's recent sermon on this topic. You might want to add a link to this page on the sermon archives page. Also, as for the sermon itself you might ask Randy if he would be interested in posting a transcript.
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