Are we having fun yet?

If there's anything that keeps the American economy going, aside from the basic industries to fuel our daily needs, it's the human desire to have "fun." And the more our modern lifestyle stresses us with constant busyness and demands of work, raising children, improving the quality of our lives, etc., the more we seem to hunger for some kind of release and amusement.

As a result, the "fun" industry keeps growing. Movies, games, amusement parks, party providers and much, much more; an ever-growing sector of the economy is being built on things of little more consequence than to divert our minds from the daily grind. The recent Super Bowl extravaganza, a spectacle of far more impact than just another football game, was produced with the fun and enjoyment of the viewing public as an objective at least as important as deciding the recipient of the Lombardi trophy.

Even some of the "necessities" are manufactured and marketed in a way to put some zip or bling on what would be ordinarily rather mundane. A recent automobile ad tries to convince us that our car should "turn us on," as other car makers seek to ramp up the excitement of an otherwise routine commute.

Now, I like fun, and can truly appreciate the value of laughter and mental diversions from the burdens of work and other responsibilities. As Solomon well observed, "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. (Proverbs 17:22) God must have a sense of humor, many have assumed, for that natural quality of the human mind transcends genetic differences among human beings, and seems an integral part of humanity as made in God's image. Fun is more than mere recreation. It is the relief valve for a weary heart.

But as with all things in life, merriment has many sides. Indeed, many who appear to be having fun are simply covering or attempting to numb the pain of their normal lives. This fact was also observed by Solomon, as he noted, "Even in laughter the heart may be in pain, and the end of joy may be grief. (Proverbs 14:13) When fun is pursued as a pain-killer or as a rescuer from boredom, the quest for fun takes on a life of its own. And then the desire for fun becomes an insatiable appetite for pleasure that leaves ordinary life as something to be endured rather than lived to the fullest. It is the same thing that happens when the desire for wealth replaces the mere usefulness of wealth, leaving people with the "love of money" that Scripture describes as a "root of all kinds of evil."

In other words, if the desire for fun becomes more valuable to us than the desire for real life, as when people dread Mondays and live all week in anticipation of Friday night, then the fun will end up being something wholly other than fun. How many people have plunged themselves into unexpected sorrow as a result of something that "seemed like fun at the moment?"

I thank God for real fun. But it's only real fun if it doesn't turn into something that I end up regretting. And it's only fun if it doesn't reduce my ability to live a real life to the fullest of God's will for me. But I thank God even more for real life, sorrow and joy alike, for only real life can build character, teach lessons and strengthen intimate relationships. By contrast, the only I ever learned from fun times was that I liked it. Sadly, for many who have yet to discover the "life more abundant" that Jesus promised, such an outcome of fun is enough.