Wednesday, August 26, 2020

“I said to myself, ‘Come on, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life.’ But I found that this, too, was meaningless. So I said, ‘Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?’” (Ecclesiastes 2:1 1-2, New Living Translation)

                 “I think I’m having fun now.”

                Profound words of our five-year old grandson, Henry. We were sent a video of him enjoying roasting marshmallows in a fire-pit down at the dock at their cottage. Would all of life be so content as with nothing more than the enjoyable, sweet taste of a fire-roasted marshmallow. Wait until you taste S’mores, kiddo. Your head will explode.

                I had a friend who used to always be pestering me whether I was doing anything for fun. Frankly, I didn’t really understand the question, and I never had an answer that satisfied him.  His idea of  fun was not necessarily my idea of fun. But it does bring up the question: what is the definition of “fun”? How do I know whether I am having fun or not?  I expect the minute one asks these “penetrating” questions about fun, whatever I am doing ceases to be fun any more.

                I haven’t done any fishing in a very long time. But when I did go fishing back in the day, it was fun just to let my little aluminum skiff drift in the currents of the lake on a warm summer afternoon, dangle my line in the water, light up a good cigar and hope that I really didn't catch anything. It was too much effort to take the fish off the line. I could do that all afternoon. For somebody else, that would be so boring as to drive them loopy.

Is fun the same as enjoyment? Is fun the same as pleasure? Does fun always have to be raucous, busy and over-the-top? Some people find it fun to take one of those stomach-turning, wild rides at an amusement park.  Personally, I prefer a really good meal at a quiet restaurant. Fun for me is a day with any or all of my grandchildren.

                Fun is in the eye of the beholder.

                The old grouch who wrote Ecclesiastes scorns any idea that the meaning of life is found in pleasure or, for our purposes, having fun. Perhaps, some might feel you aren’t supposed to disagree with anything in the Bible, but I disagree with the writer on this issue. Perhaps, he is pondering those pleasures that go to excess, that need artificial stimulants, anything that comes at other people’s expense or embarrassment.  (I have always hated practical jokes.)

                I would argue that laughter is not silly at all but a necessary part of life. There are certain things in life that put a smile on your face. There are many things that make us laugh, giggle, chuckle, guffaw and make our eyes twinkle with amusement.

Joy, fun, and pleasure add mightily to the vitality of human living. It is food for the soul. It is nourishment for the spirit. It is sustenance for long days and weary nights that we all go through.

Christianity has had a bad rep, albeit well-earned to a large degree, of being a religion that eliminates having any fun. It is perceived as a faith of “thou shalt not ________” and there is a long list of what fills in the blank.

It is too bad that we can ignore the idea that Jesus was a bit of a party animal. Maybe that is too strong of an image, but we see him  in the Gospels as someone who enjoyed a good food, good wine and good company. He loved being with children. He attended weddings. He was always at somebody’s house for a meal.  He told stories about banquets. Angels danced in one of his parables. He hosted his own feasts on hillsides. Despite his very serious and somber mission, he found the enjoyable side of life and reveled in it.

He wanted life’s  happy fullness to be infectious. “I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” (John 51:11, NLT)

Smile, Jesus loves you! Now that’s hilarious! But it puts a smile in my heart.

Dale