The Spanish word for amusements is very interesting –Diversions. . . . Can you say that your amusements are bringing you closer to God, or are you getting diverted further away from Him?  Is your sport giving you more strength and knowledge to do God’s work?  Is it practical?

Is it helping you find your way to help, heal and bless others?  Or is it just all about you?  Is it a self-centered exercise in which you are indulging?  Or is it with and for others, as well?

All of these are questions we will answer in this article.  The American Constitution talks about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Isn’t that what everyone wants out of life? Happiness? And people look in lots of places to find happiness, don’t they?

Maybe you have seen some of your friends at school pursuing happiness in some of those places, like sex, drugs and rock and roll—and did they find happiness?  Now, please understand that they probably found lots of mirth and laughter, lots of superficial pleasure.  But what does the Bible say about the pleasures of sin? “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.”  Hebrews 11:25.  It only lasts for a short season.

“Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.” Psalm 144:15. Do you know this kind of happiness?  Or, there is actually another word for it—joy . . . .  What is the difference between mere fun and joy—what would you say the difference is?

But what if my pursuit of happiness infringes upon someone else’s happiness?  “Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.” Romans 14: 13. The Bible says not to put a stumbling block in any one else’s way.  So is that article of dress that you find so comfortable actually going to be a curse if you put it on?  Maybe not a curse for you, but a curse for someone else?  Is that food that you are going to eat or the amount of food you are going to eat, even, actually going to unfit you for the Bible study that you want to give later on?

“Everything in the world is in agitation. The signs of the times are ominous. Coming events cast their shadows before. The Spirit of God is withdrawing from the earth, and calamity follows calamity by sea and by land. There are tempests, earthquakes, fires, floods, murders of every grade. Who can read the future? Where is security? There is assurance in nothing that is human or earthly. Rapidly men are ranging themselves under the banner they have chosen. Restlessly they are waiting and watching the movements of their leaders.

“An intensity such as never before was seen is taking possession of the world. In amusements, in money-making, in the contest for power, in the very struggle for existence, there is a terrible force that engrosses body and mind and soul. In the midst of this maddening rush, God is speaking. He bids us come apart and commune with Him. ‘Be still, and know that I am God.’

“‘Come unto Me,’ Christ says, ‘and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest.’

“In the heart of Christ, where reigned perfect harmony with God, there was perfect peace. He was never elated by applause, or dejected by censure or disappointment. Amidst the greatest opposition and the most cruel treatment, He was still of good courage. But many who profess to be His followers have an anxious, troubled heart, because they are afraid to trust themselves with God. They do not make a complete surrender to Him; for they shrink from the consequences that such a surrender may involve. Unless they do make this surrender, they can not find peace.”  –The Signs of the Times, July 6, 1904

Do you think making a complete surrender to God will also involve your food, clothing and amusements?  Generally speaking, we can say that the outside appearance is an index to the heart.  And the more naked someone is, the more into sin they will be.

Also, the more worldly that a person’s amusements are, the more worldly and sinful they will be, also generally speaking.

“The abiding rest—the consciousness that God is true—who has it? That rest is found when all self-justification is put away, and an entire surrender is made to Christ, to be and do only what He wills. Those who do not comply with these conditions can not find rest.” –The Signs of the Times, July 6, 1904

In Christ there is perfect peace. . . and could we say that He has perfect joy as well?

How about sports?  Are sports ever acceptable?

“The Problem of Many Athletic Sports.—Vigorous exercise the pupils must have. Few evils are more to be dreaded than indolence and aimlessness. Yet the tendency of most athletic sports is a subject of anxious thought to those who have at heart the well-being of the youth. Teachers are troubled as they consider the influence of these sports both on the student’s progress in school and on his success in afterlife. The games that occupy so much of his time are diverting the mind from study. They are not helping to prepare the youth for practical, earnest work in life. Their influence does not tend toward refinement, generosity, or real manliness.

“Some of the most popular amusements, such as football and boxing, have become schools of brutality. They are developing the same characteristics as did the games of ancient Rome. The love of domination, the pride in mere brute force, the reckless disregard of life, are exerting upon the youth a power to demoralize that is appalling.

“Other athletic games, though not so brutalizing, are scarcely less objectionable because of the excess to which they are carried. They stimulate the love of pleasure and excitement, thus fostering a distaste for useful labor, a disposition to shun practical duties and responsibilities. They tend to destroy a relish for life’s sober realities and its tranquil enjoyments. Thus the door is opened to dissipation and lawlessness with their terrible results.” –The Adventist Home, p. 500

“On such occasions parents and children should feel free from care, labor, and perplexity. Parents should become children with their children, making everything as pleasant for them as possible. Let the whole day be given to recreation. Exercise in the open air for those whose employment has been within doors and sedentary will be beneficial to health. All who can should feel it a duty to pursue this course. Nothing will be lost, but much gained. They can return to their occupations with new life and new courage to engage in their labor with zeal, and they are better prepared to resist disease.”  –The Adventist Home, p. 502

To sum up:  Here are several other things to consider when we are trying to choose a pastime or recreation—is it giving honor and glory to God?  Or self?  Am I more concerned with winning this game, or getting exercise?  Is this type of exercise too brutal, stimulating a love of pleasure and excitement or is it actually helping me to relish life’s sober realities and tranquil enjoyments?  Am I more concerned with making a display of this game to others—or is it for keeping my body fit and healthy through exercise?

Am I going to come away from this recreation more fitted for handling life’s burdens and problems—or less fitted for these things after this activity?

May God bless you and I when we consider our recreations and amusements, that we can answer all these questions in the proper way, and choose only those sports or activities that fit this criteria and thus give honor and glory to our gracious God through our thoughts, words and activities.  Amen.

Jerry Eaton