In a world that is filled with entertainment and recreation, what room is left for Christ? Robert Taylor rightly wrote, “We live in an age where people prefer fun over faith, the lake over the Lord, things over the truth, sports over the Savior, gadgets over God, gimmicks over the gospel, laughter over the Lord, recreation over redemption, and entertainment over edification…the bottom line of it all is…where are our hearts at?” How can a Christian balance recreation and holiness?
First of all, we must remember our need for re-creation over recreation. In Scripture we learn that God created mankind in a state of faultlessness (Gen. 1:26-31). Man stood before God without sin but chose to separate himself from God (Isa. 59:1-2; Rom. 3:23), and consequently, was unable to remove the punishment of sin (Rom. 6:23) and stood in need of re-creation that is only found in Jesus Christ (Rom. 6:2-4; 2 Cor. 5:17). Since it was sin that brought about the need for our re-creation, we ought to consider sin to make good decisions in our recreation.
To do this, we must ask ourselves, “where does recreation take us?” There are times in our busy lives that we just desire to get away, and so, we plan the perfect vacation, detailing where to stay, what to wear, and the must-see places. Yet, during this time, do we forget the Father by failing to make plans for worship? Additionally, consider that our recreation may take us closer to sin. If holiness is to be our character, then we ought to consider Psalm 1:1-2, and ask ourselves; where do we like to spend our time? Is it a place filled with temptation? Remember God commands us to “abstain from every appearance of evil” (1 Thess. 5:22).
Finally, as stewards of God’s time, will we be found redeeming the time or wasting it? (Eph. 5:15-17). Often, many Christians are overcome by the inability to prioritize God’s time. The numerous extracurricular activities take the lead over assembling with the saints to worship God. Where are our hearts? Why are there so many who will not come to back to worship Sunday evening, nor study God’s word with the saints on Wednesday? Brethren, it is important to know that many of the things which distract us from God are not wrong, in and of themselves. But if these things dominate and steal the time that belongs to God, they become sinful.