Is Christianity fun?

[AgnosticBoy]

I think a lot of young people might think that Christianity is boring. Just imagine being dragged to Church by your parents. You gotta sit there and sing or pretend to do so. You gotta listen to some guy talk. Now that's just Church. But outside of Church, you have all these moral laws that people have to follow that probably most of your friends don't care about, like sex being only for marriage, listening to your parents all the time.

I'm sure some adults look at Christianity, and religion overall, as leading to a boring and restricted life in terms of sexuality and other types of fun.

For Discussion:
1. Is it possible to have a fun life while being a Christian?
2. Please elaborate on how - bring up examples...

 

[Scooter]

Christianity isn't about living a "fun" life. It's about living a fulfilled life. It's living a life that God intends for us to live. The Christian life is a life that is filled with purpose and meaning. There is of course fun along the way. When I was a youth pastor, I loved taking the kids on rafting trips, bowling, and zip-lining. My wife and I are taking our adult kids and grandbaby on vacation next week to Orlando. We expect to have a lot of fun. As a follower of Christ, my goal is not to have fun in life, but to live a life that honors my Creator and Savior.

I know there is a lot of resistance to Christianity because it does have "rules". The rules are not there to keep us from having fun, but to keep us safe. I like the illustration the Christian counselor Jay Adams uses. The guidelines the Bible gives us are narrow; like the tracks of a freight train. Now, if you remove the train from the tracks and set it loose on the interstate, it won't get far. Put the train in an open field and it bogs down. Allow the train to go into the ocean and it sinks immediately. But, put the train on the narrow tracks and it is almost unstoppable. It is when the train jumps the tracks that it wrecks. So many people's lives today are absolute train wrecks because they have jumped the tracks of God's law.

 

[bbyrd009]

I think a lot of young people might think that Christianity is boring. Just imagine being dragged to Church by your parents. You gotta sit there and sing or pretend to do so. You gotta listen to some guy talk. Now that's just Church. But outside of Church, you have all these moral laws that people have to follow that probably most of your friends don't care about, like sex being only for marriage, listening to your parents all the time.

I'm sure some adults look at Christianity, and religion overall, as leading to a boring and restricted life in terms of sexuality and other types of fun.

For Discussion:
1. Is it possible to have a fun life while being a Christian?
2. Please elaborate on how - bring up examples...

I imagine attending a congregation since birth would be quite a bitt diff than joining one later? I didnt start until i was about twelve, and had all the complaints you mention; but looking back on it, those were some of the best times of my life. I had my first kiss on a retreat, etc.

Of course as a kid you take community more for granted, and every congregation is different, even within sects, so id def want to more or less interview the pastor, and feel a click. I noticed that older sects, Methodist, Episcopalian, feel they have less to prove and are more relaxed, but i didnt learn that until later

 

[AgnosticBoy]

Christianity isn't about living a "fun" life. It's about living a fulfilled life.

I know there is a lot of resistance to Christianity because it does have "rules". The rules are not there to keep us from having fun, but to keep us safe. I like the illustration the Christian counselor Jay Adams uses. The guidelines the Bible gives us are narrow; like the tracks of a freight train. Now, if you remove the train from the tracks and set it loose on the interstate, it won't get far. Put the train in an open field and it bogs down. Allow the train to go into the ocean and it sinks immediately. But, put the train on the narrow tracks and it is almost unstoppable. It is when the train jumps the tracks that it wrecks. So many people's lives today are absolute train wrecks because they have jumped the tracks of God's law.

This is very good insight Scooter! I agree that fulfillment is more important than fun, and fun should only be part of life.

I remember my cousins were doing very bad in middle school. Teacher complained they were always wanting to play and not do real class assignments. Part of the problem was that anything other than games and fun was boring to them or they simply did not care for it. I see that your point applies here. The same way you need more than fun to do good in school is the same way you need more than fun to have a good life. I suppose for adults that only want to have fun all the time, I wonder if neglect other responsibilities, like showing up to work and getting the job done.

Also what matters is the type of fun since not all fun is good. A lot of the house parties I went to at a young age tended to have people doing drugs - mostly Coke. Thankfully I had my limit and I never touched it!