Day 145: Misconceptions (Part 3)-The "F" Word

Not that F-word the other one. The one not usually associated with Christians…

...Fun.

The other common misconception is that Christians don’t have fun or we are not allowed to have fun. Nowhere in the bible is fun out ruled. I'm pretty sure they were a pretty good time at that wedding reception when Jesus turned water into wine. This is another stereotype that must be broken because when we, Christians, are perceived as people who do not know how to enjoy ourselves it becomes a shocker when we do.

Ecclesiastes 8:15

So I recommend having fun because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun.

When I first became a Christian I was under the impression that I had to give up any and everything that pointed towards fun. If it was fun, I had to cut it from my life. I thought that fun was no longer a factor in my life because I had to be a person of faith. I had to be serious and take myself seriously (we’ll discuss this later in the week). I was literally under the impression that fun equaled sin. Crazy right?! That caused me to isolate myself from things and people because I did not want to be labeled a sinner. It was also my surroundings, everyone in my church was always so serious, people were stone faced, it always seemed like no one liked to laugh. I was surrounded by people who had used Jesus to take the fun out a living. They took away our ability to live a good and joyful life. As we talked about yesterday, there is so much joy in this life of freedom.

Another reason being is, it is almost as if Christians aren’t allowed to have fun. Whenever someone smells fun on us they immediately throw the fact that we are “supposed to be Christian’ in our faces. Why does it have to be this way? We are so quick to strip ourselves and our Christian brothers and sisters of their humanity. We often forget that we are human as do other people who are on the outside looking in. When we strip this humanity from ourselves we forget that we are allowed to the basic human things in life like having fun, going out and enjoying ourselves, or just hanging out with friends. We do not have to sit at a table reading the bible all day. We are allowed to have fun, according to the scripture it is recommended that we have fun.

I believe that many people define fun differently than us, that is why it is so hard to believe that Christians actually enjoy themselves outside of the church. But it’s true, we like to have a good time, and we’re usually the ones to initiate the fun. If you identify having fun with getting drunk or high, or having one night stands, or doing things that are not of God, are you really having a good time? See, we like to have fun but we also want to remember it all the next day.

All this to say, there is no harm is being a Christian and having fun, it means we are living our best life. This life God has given us is precious, enjoy it. We do not have to choose between our faith and enjoying ourselves. We do not have to set our faith aside or feel like we are sinning just because we are enjoying ourselves. If you want to go out with your friends or significant other, do so. Don't waste your life trying so hard not to sin that you miss it. Trust yourself. Know that you can step out and enjoy yourself and there is nothing wrong with that.

Reflection

1. How do you define fun? What is your own personal definition?
2. Do you believe that Christians can have fun without putting their faith to the side?
   
   

Prayer Time

Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer. Talk to God about enjoying life.

I love you, I hope you have an amazing Day or evening. Go have some fun today, break the stereotype. Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 146 to continue this series!