When I began to understand John 10:10, I became angry because I realized the enemy had deceived me into thinking that enjoying things was not important. Under the influence of the devil, who is the Deceiver, I had come to believe-falsely, of course-that if I was having fun, something was wrong with it. I must not be working hard enough! I never saw my father enjoy life and it seemed to aggravate him when others did, so I just grew up thinking something must be wrong with it. I can remember being told to be quiet
when I laughed out loud.
Maybe you can relate; perhaps you went through some of the same struggles in your childhood, or have been through other things that have left you too serious. Every time you try to rest, every time you try to do anything recreational, anytime you do anything besides work, you have a vague feeling of guilt, as if something is wrong with it. I realize some people may not understand this struggle, but many, many do.
I think this excessive work mentality is one reason people often backslide in their relationships with God. They mistakenly try to serve God as a job or as “work” and fail to enjoy Him. The seventeenth century French mystic Madame Guyon said that the highest call for every child of God is to enjoy God. I remember what a heavy load lifted off of me the first time I read that. At that time I was working so hard trying to please God that the thought of simply enjoying Him had not occurred to me at all. I had never heard of such a thing! I think it is sad indeed that I had been a committed church member for over twenty
years before I learned that God wanted me to enjoy Him and the life He had given me.
God has created all things for our enjoyment and it begins by enjoying Him. He also wants us to enjoy one another and He wants us to enjoy ourselves.
Next time you have a desire to take a short break from your work and go for a walk in the park, or watch a child play. go ahead and do it without feeling guilty or unspiritual. Your work will still be there when you return. I am not encouraging you to be irresponsible, but I do want you to take the appropriate steps to enjoy life in the midst of accomplishing great things. If you have been working hard and feel you need a day off, then take it. You will be more fruitful if you take time to be refreshed. We live in the midst of a driven society but we can change if we choose to. If you don’t want to end up old with all kinds of regret about things you wish you would have done, then get started today making every moment count.
Think about It
What can you do to have some fun today, even while you are working? Choose one thing each day you would like to do just for the joy of doing it.
