"I wonder if fun is an attribute of God." Pastor Mark Drsicoll commented recently during a conference of well known pastors.

Well I don't know if fun can be labeled as an attribute of God theologically but I do know that God is OK with fun. Actually, I think that God is a big fan of fun!

I find that often people, within and without the Church, believers and nonbelievers, see God as the divine quencher of FUN. We think "He can't be for fun He has all these RULES" (and He does). We ponder how "I need to submit to Christ's Lordship; being a slave of God isn't fun" (and we DO need to see Christ as LORD). But neither of these realities of redemption require a failure to have fun and be fun.

Consider the wise words of the preacher who wrote the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes.
"Young people, enjoy yourselves while you are young; be happy while you are young. Do whatever your heart desires, whatever you want to do. But remember that God will judge you for everything you do." (Ecclesiastes 11:9 NCV).
Essentially the Holy Spirit inspired a verse that says "Have fun! Have as much fun as you can! But remember that God will hold you accountable for your wrongdoings."

God's rules and our fun are not two mutually exclusive things. In fact, I think they complement each other. I am a youth director at a small church. I spend almost all of my time with God and serving God. But I am having the most fun of my life! How is this possible? Knowing that God is pleased with me, His chosen and redeemed son, and choosing to love my God in return fuels my fun. My redeemed state gives me passion. It supplies me with joy. It drives me to love. And passion, joy, and love are FUN.

Four times in Scripture we read that we, God's people, need to "love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might" (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; and Luke 10:27 NASB).
Jesus said that "This is the great and foremost commandment" (Matthew 22:38 NASB). If we love God with all we are we are going to find following His commands easier than ever before.
Love brings joy and fun to obedience. And it frees us to have fun in all else.

I love Yahweh my God for many reasons. Chiefly I love Him because He is MY God and He has chosen me and redeemed me. I also love Him because He is BEAUTIFUL. He is the author of beauty and all beauty I see in life is a mere shadow of His glorious beauty. I take joy and have fun in all things in life knowing that these things show me little glimpses of my Creator.

Brother, sister, nonbeliever, are you having fun in chasing after God? If not, ask Him to change you, in Jesus name.

His blessing be on you!

Joshua Rystedt

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The Everyday Bible : New Century Version (Nashville, TN.: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2005).

New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995)._

_ Us Christians, we have the truth. We have the light of Christ residing within us and radiating out of us. We know and believe the truth of the Gospel. However, many of us begin to think that we have all truth. You know, those secondary beliefs that you hold to that don’t change the Gospel message. Sometimes we can start to hold to those so strongly that we will harshly argue those points with those around us. Some people who profess Christ will even start to act in selfishness and bitter jealousy (I did that often not all that long ago). This is how church splits happen. That kind of living is neither truly Christian nor truly wise. The author of the New Testament book of James wrote on this very subject.

James 3:13-18 (NCV)
“Are there those among you who are truly wise and understanding? Then they should show it by living right and doing good things with a gentleness that comes from wisdom. But if you are selfish and have bitter jealousy in your hearts, do not brag. Your bragging is a lie that hides the truth. That kind of ‘wisdom’ does not come from God but from the world. It is not spiritual; it is from the devil. Where jealousy and selfishness are, there will be confusion and every kind of evil.  But the wisdom that comes from God is first of all pure, then peaceful, gentle, and easy to please. This wisdom is always ready to help those who are troubled and to do good for others. It is always fair and honest. People who work for peace in a peaceful way plant a good crop of right-living.”

James is here contrasting true wisdom with false wisdom. Some people think they are wise when they are really not.
Look at James 3:13-18 to answer the following questions.
Where does false wisdom come from?
False wisdom comes from the world around us, our sinful bodies, and demonic forces.
How does false wisdom act?
False wisdom acts in arrogance from the heart.
What does false wisdom bring?
False wisdom brings “disorder and every evil thing” (v. 16 NASB).
Where does true wisdom come from?
True wisdom comes down “from above” (vv. 15 and 17 NASB).
How does true wisdom act?
True wisdom acts in goodness, gentleness, purity, peacefulness, reasonableness, mercy, and sincerity.
“What is this wisdom like?
James says:
•             It is ‘pure’. This means it is free from all the things that characterize false wisdom.
•             It is also ‘peaceable’. It delights in peace and promotes peace.
•             It is ‘gentle’. It is not combative and abrasive. It is reasonable and courteous.
•             It is ‘willing to yield’. It is open to reason. It doesn’t insist on its rights and its own way.
•             It is ‘full of mercy’, that is, it shows compassion to those who are in need.
•             It is ‘full of … good fruits’. That means it is rich in good deeds.
•             It is ‘without partiality’. It does not show favoritism.
•             It is ‘without hypocrisy’. It is sincere and genuine. It doesn’t put on a front.
This is God’s wisdom, and when we allow this wisdom to drive us down the road of life—which is another way of saying we allow God to drive us—we achieve a wonderful result.” (Ellsworth).
What is the result of wisdom?
“That result is righteousness (v. 18). Righteousness is, of course, right conduct. It is right living, that is, living in accordance with the will of God.” (Ellswroth).
V. 18 shows us that true wisdom is multiplied through peaceful living.

Being a wise person is not only being a smart person. Being a truly wise person is to act on what you know through “right-living” (v. 18 NCV). Taking a moment to breathe when a conversation gets hot may help you to speak with “a gentleness that comes from wisdom” (v. 13 NCV). The Kingdom of Christ and righteous living in His Church can be spread through peaceful wisdom. Next time you get in a disagreement with another Christian, a non-believer, a friend, or a family member be gentle and willing to yield. The truths of God will not spread through abrasive living but only through gentle and righteous living.

*You may watch me preach a short sermon on this subject here.

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The Everyday Bible: New Century Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2005.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.

Ellsworth, Roger. Opening Up James. Leominster: Day One Publications, 2009.