Self Control With Recreation

"Bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come" (1 Tim. 4:8).

Ours is a nation at play. We spend millions of dollars every year on millions of hours of recreation for ourselves, our children, even to watch others in recreation. We have allowed our passion for amusement to drive us to the point where families have little time to spend together. Do not think I am excluding myself from this discussion. I am a huge sports fan, and my kids play sports like most everyone's kids, but taking the entire family to watch one of the kids play a game is not a good substitute for real family time, that is, time spent talking to one another about what is truly important in our lives.

Luke records the pronouncing of four woes by Jesus in His sermon on the plain. He pronounces woe to the rich and the well-fed, and then says, "Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep" (Lk. 6:25). Jesus is not banning laughter and fun, but He is expressing that there are more important things in life. Unfortunately, when we expend so much effort and money on recreation, we may be sending the wrong message to our children, particularly when it is their recreation. Children can get the idea that so much revolves around them, because so much of the family's time and effort does.

Here are some ideas to consider when planning some sort of recreation:

Will it take time away from our service to God? It is obvious we need to put God first in our lives (Matt. 6:33), so when we are going to involve one or more family members in an activity, we need to carefully consider the time and expense involved. If it will draw us from planned periods of worship, Bible study or meditation on His word, we must determine what that will mean to our spiritual lives. It is amazing that some parents whose children would never miss a day of school, are allowed to miss Bible classes, Bible drills or other periods of Bible study in order to participate in recreation.

In addition, we must determine whether the expense of the activity will cause my financial contribution to God to suffer. Again, most of us would not dream of missing a house payment to spend the money on recreation, but dropping our contribution a bit to cover it is not a problem. We must have God as our first priority.

Is it wholesome? This may seem like a silly question, but so much of the entertainment world is not wholesome, that we are forced to give this attention. Paul said, "Bad company corrupts good morals" (1 Cor. 15:33), and perhaps we need to look on those whom we choose to entertain us as companions of a sort. If they are evil, they can and will corrupt us. Jesus said, "The things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders" (Matt. 15:18-19). How do such things come from the heart except we first allow them into our hearts? And how quicker to let evil in than through our entertainment?

Will it detract from family time? We have devoted entire past issues of Abundant Life to the subject of family and the importance of parents and children spending time together, especially time that is devoted to helping our children better understand why we are Christians and why we behave the way we do. For this reason, it is also important to give thought to the consequences of our recreation to our family time. If this activity will take disproportionate time from my family, I should be willing to give it up.

Will this activity benefit me or my family? Certainly, there are wholesome, beneficial activities. We began this article with a quote from Paul which clearly states that exercise can be good for our bodies, and that is beneficial, when it is kept in its place. Other activities stimulate the mind, and again can be very good. Some activities may even help us, through what we learn from them, to be better Christians. Children can learn great things about being a part of a church by being a part of a team, learning teamwork. Other activities, particularly for young men, may give them confidence, helping to prepare them to take an active part in the public worship of God.

Recreation is not bad. But it requires self-control to keep it in perspective, and if it is allowed to run our lives, it is wrong, no matter how wholesome.