29 Mar Does God Want Us to Enjoy Life?

“Christians are boring.” “Christians never have fun.” “Christians are all about following rules and judging others.”  All three statements above are often voiced by some people who do not follow Jesus. Truth be told, many believers bear some responsibility for people of faith being painted with these very broad brushes.

In fact, God does want us to enjoy life, have fun and still live a life that honors Him. Many believers and non-believers accept the false notion that you can’t do both. Many believers try to live up to an impossible standard of perfectly following the rules (the standard Jesus came to fulfill). And many non-believers feel judged by believers trying to impose that standard on them. So, how can we have the best of both worlds?

In his commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, Dennis Prager has a thought-provoking essay titled “God Wants Us to Enjoy Life.” His premise is built on Deuteronomy 8:10:” When you have eaten your fill (some translations say “when you are satisfied), give thanks to the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you. This is part of Moses’ instructions preparing the Israelites for life in the Promised Land that he will not live to see.

Prager argues that Moses’ use of “satisfied” illustrates that God wants us to enjoy what He has provided for us. But as Prager points out, many religions have preached denying oneself of the pleasures that both the Torah and the New Testament allow. I believe a couple of things keep people from enjoying God’s creation.

First, many believers miss that you needn’t be wealthy to enjoy creation. Prager writes of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, the leader of 19th-century German Orthodoxy. Hirsch apparently caught his followers off-guard when he announced he’d be visiting Switzerland. His explanation: “When I stand shortly before the Almighty, I will be held accountable to many questions…. But what will I say when…and I’m sure to be asked, ‘Shimson (Hirsch’s first name in Hebrew), did you see my Alps?”

While I have been blessed to see the Alps, there is plenty of God’s creation to enjoy wherever you are. You’re treated to sunrise and sunset every day, wherever you are. How many times in your life have you taken advantage of them? The second barrier to enjoying what God provides is ingratitude. It’s hard to appreciate something that you aren’t grateful for. In fact, ingratitude is part of what leads to overindulgence:

12 “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 1 Corinthians 6:12-13 (ESV)

Note that in Deuteronomy 8:10, Moses tells the Israelites to give thanks when they are satisfied. If we’re not grateful for what we already have enjoyed, we will seek more, and more, and more. And we will seek things that are not beneficial to us. We then move from enjoying God’s gifts to worshipping them instead of Him.

God wants you to enjoy life by enjoying the creation He provided. You needn’t be wealthy to do that. And when you are grateful, you will enjoy these gifts even more and not be tempted to replace God with His gifts. That gratitude gives glory to God when it’s on display for others to see.

So, you see, you can accept Christ, enjoy life in ways you never have before and give glory to God. If you missed sunrise this morning, I pray God blesses you with a spectacular sunset tonight, wherever you are reading this!

Pastor Jerry Bader