01
Dec '18
Buzz Kill
01
Dec '18
Fun-sucker, buzz kill, killjoy – we’ve all used these words to describe someone in our life at some point. We define these words as someone who steals our fun, someone who just doesn’t want us to have joy, or someone who tries to steal anything good we have in life. Instead of jumping up and down with us as we celebrate, they look at us like we’re crazy and make us feel, for lack of a better word, stupid. You know who I’m talking about. We’ve all had this person (or persons!) in our life.
I think many people on the outside of Christianity (and maybe even some Christians, and I’ll elaborate more on this in a bit with myself as an example) think that once they allow God into their life, that their life is going to become stale and boring, and all the fun will just be “sucked out” of their life because they’ve let God in. “I won’t be able to do this”, or “I won’t be able to do that”. Stipulations.
Even being a Christian from a teenager, I’ve gone through seasons of my life when I was much younger where I kept God at a distance because I was living life my way, and I didn’t want to “give anything up” that I was doing. Of course God was always there, I still read something out of my Bible every night and I knew He was there, but I really struggled with allowing Him to get too close. Of course, I didn’t want Him to get too far away either, as a crisis may hit and I may need Him, but I didn’t really want to invite Him into my house for dinner. I just liked Him outside, hanging around just in case I needed Him, but in the meantime, I wanted to live the way I wanted and not have God “stifling my life”. Although scary to think of that now, if I’m being completely transparent, that’s how I honestly felt at certain times in my life when I was much younger.
Maybe you’ve been there too, or maybe you haven’t, but as I’ve grown in Christ over the years, and allowed Him fully into my life, I’ve learned that He doesn’t want to take away the fun and the joy in my life at all – it’s actually just the opposite! I was so confused with what I was doing in life – and was what I was doing really that enjoyable anyway?? I heard someone on a podcast once say – “If God wanted to wreck your life and your joy, He wouldn’t have needed permission from you – He’d have just hit the ‘smite button’ a long time ago”. Of course, that was humorous in the context in which this Pastor was talking, however, if you think about it, it’s so true. God doesn’t need our permission – He could wreck our life at any moment. It’s almost like in those times of my life I felt by keeping God at a distance that He couldn’t touch me or my life. I was fooling myself – I was one “smite button” away from God stopping me in my tracks. Looking back, however, I’m thankful and blessed that He didn’t use the “smite button” on me as I was exercising my “free will”! (Or maybe He should’ve used the button and knocked some sense into me!)
Fast forward out of those stages of my life, and thankfully, I started looking at life differently. God knew exactly when I began searching for Him more. Little by little, He started removing things from my life that were not beneficial, and you know what? I didn’t even miss them! I have to remember that many things in life may be permissible, but they may not always be beneficial. They may not be wrong in any way, but if they aren’t beneficial to my life, then why would/should I choose them? When God takes over our lives, when we finally let Him in, He gladly begins a work in us that is positive and aligns with His Word. He helps guide us to what is beneficial and what isn’t, and allows us to change from the inside out. Tugs of our heart, questioning things that we may not have questioned prior, etc. Does it happen all at once? Like a lightning bolt? I suppose for some, it could – it depends on how God works in your life, and what He knows you’re ready for. In my case, however, it was gradual, as if God was peeling back the layers of Himself and showing me how He had never left me, and He wanted to be a much larger part of my life.
Don’t doubt that God WANTS us to have fun. He wants us to thrive and flourish, engage with other believers and laugh and enjoy life! We should allow Him in to experience life with us! There is NOTHING wrong with fun! In my case, I love going to various holiday events, the local skating rink, bowling, flying a kite, jet skiing on the lake, or having fun doing absolutely “nothing” on a beach. There is nothing wrong with fun – as God created things in this life for us to enjoy. So, don’t let anyone tell you that Christians can’t be fun people (we totally can)!
So, yes! Enjoy life and have fun! The equation is simple – just allow God to be a part of your life while you’re doing it!
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*Dena*
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