Go Outside and Play!

“There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?

Ecclesiastes 2:24-25

Mom said it to us whenever she needed a break from us kids.  This was her solution when I came complaining that I was bored.  When my sisters and I would argue, this is how she restored peace.  This was how she rewarded us when our chores were done.  This is the permission she gave when my friends would come over – Four simple words “Go outside and play.” 

We all understand how important play is for children.  Play is how they learn things.  Play is how children socialize and develop relationships with parents, siblings and others.  As they play children learn creativity, problem solving and more.  What is sad is that somehow we have relegated play to children.  Play is perceived as unproductive, and unimportant for adults.  I remember one day in Germany. We had guests from America.  I was feeling guilty about taking a day to take our guest to the Rhine.  But then one of the members of Trinity told me that was silly.  In essence she said, “Go outside and play.  Besides you will learn more about Germany which can only help your ministry.”  Play is as important for adults as it is for children.  Think of all the things adults do for play – movies, theater, concerts, golf, football, reading a book, going for a walk.  Consider what play does for you – it clears your minds, helps you relax, relieves stress, focuses your attention.  One of the staff members in Flower Mound was having a real hard time with her prayer life.  I told her to go do something she loves and then sit down for devotions.  She went on a long a bike ride.  At the end she sat down in a park to read her Bible and pray.  Playing first helped her to focus. 

Play is important.  In fact, I would say that play is a gift of God.   He wants us to take time to play.  Solomon tells us as much in Ecclesiastes.  There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God…  When God first made Adam and Eve He gave them a garden to live and work in.  He called the place “Eden” which means “a delightful place, a paradise, a place of ultimate happiness.”  It sounds to me like He intended them to do more than work.  It sounds to me like He also intended them to enjoy it.  He gave them a playground to live, work and play in.  Jesus turned 180 gallons of water into wine so that a party could keep going.  He was always ready to go to a dinner party with anyone who asked him.  The disciples of John the Baptist complained how the disciples of Jesus were always feasting while they were fasting.  I love how Jesus answered, “Can the wedding guest mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?”

You might even say that Jesus has redeemed play.  Ask this question - Is there anything that makes ‘play’ different for the believer?  The answer is right here in the text.  “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? It’s the same thing that makes grief different for a believer.  Our grief is not hopeless grief.  “We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.”  In the same way – what makes play different is that we have hope in Jesus Christ.  Ours is not the outlook on life that despairs and says “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you die.”  Ours is not the selfish, “You might as well indulge yourself because this is all there is.”  Because of Jesus there is something else, something more in store for us… He has purchased us a place in His Father’s house, at His Father’s banqueting table… Because of Him play is an act of worship. Bethany loves to send us pictures of her getting the boys to giggle.  That’s Bethany celebrating the wonderful little lives God has given to her and Jason.  When Linda and I were with Ben and Anna at a cabin in upstate New York, we remarked on how beautiful the countryside is – we were in fact praising God for the beauty of His creation.  When we play… when we sit with our families to play games, or to swim in the pool we are celebrating that there is purpose, meaning, beauty, a future for all of God’s creation because He is creator and redeemer.  Just as a father or mother takes great joy from the play of their children, so our Father in heaven takes great joy as we celebrate His creation… Solomon was right - “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God,  for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?  So go ahead my friends, “Go outside and play!” Amen.