Introduction
Leisure and recreation have become of enormous importance in developed western societies. Travel, tourism, sport etc. have become giant industries. Australians in particular define themselves from these spheres. So important have these areas become in the common life that a biblically informed view is urgent.
The Beginnings of Leisure
One essential aspect of leisure is that it is done without compulsion or obligation. It is not done to obtain something else, as in the contractual sense that most people work for money, but for the pleasure or satisfaction in the activity itself. If this is true of leisure, then in a very deep sense leisure begins with God’s joy in creating (Gen 1:31; Prov 8:30-31). This is a joy that must have been shared by Adam and Eve in the “pleasure park” of Eden.
To the degree that they willingly “lived and moved and had their being” in God (Acts 17:28) we must suppose that their work was experienced as renewing and fulfilling in itself. Drudgery and boredom were unknown. Life was equally fun-filled and holy, for as long as everything was centred on God it must have shared his attributes (Isa 62:5; Zeph 3:17; Isa 6:3; Rev 4:8). The first would have been repeatedly surprised by the traces of God’s goodness they discovered in the garden. Life was an adventure lived within the circle of the divine love.
Falling into Leisure
Adam and Eve were accosted by the devil in the most basic fashion, for when he remarked: “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat…’” he implied that they had no room for leisure while they lived under the command of God. Apparently, if they “became like God knowing good and evil” (Gen 3:5) they would have perfect freedom. Everything would become leisure.
The content of this leisure would have been sensual enjoyment, like tasty food (Gen 3:6), and aesthetic pleasure, “pleasing to the eye” (Gen 3:6). What was really to be enjoyed through “creation” would have been oneself. Humanity would be expanded beyond limits.
The real result of trying to live this way soon became apparent. Outside Eden most of life could not be enjoyed because of the heart-pain of guilt and shame (Gen 3:7). Work turned into toil (Gen 3:17-18) with leisure an escape from reality rather than a joyous partnership with God. In this context leisure turned into sloth or an addiction with diminishing returns. Driven personalities failed to see the “point” of leisure at all.
Modern secular western societies are characterized by a deep underlying restlessness that no amount of attention to leisure can alleviate. Many people are always tired and on the edge of burn out. These are all signs of the judgement of God (Isa 57:21).
Jesus and the Recovery of Leisure
Jesus lived a life without any of these inner stresses caused by sin. His parables that drew regularly from the sphere of nature (Matt 6:26-30) showed that he was surprised by the grace of God in creation. He enjoyed feasting (Mark 2:15) and could be accused of being a drunkard (Luke 7:34). In all of life he remained focused on the Father (Mark 7:34) and found joy in the Holy Spirit (Luke 10:21). Despite a gruelling schedule he knew how to rest (John 6:15) and never seemed to lack energy for the task ahead.
The great exception to this is the cross, for the cross is the place where all the pleasures and presences of God must be withdrawn from Jesus’ life (Mark 15:34). The agony of the cross is not primarily sensory but spiritual deprivation. Taking into himself the death of the wicked (Ezek 18:23; Gal 3:13), Jesus loses his centre, becoming insensible to the one in whom he has his being. Here there is no place for enjoyment between Father and Son, leisure is unthinkable.
Through the resurrection however Jesus enjoys the fullness of the pleasure of God (Heb 1:9; 12:2). He has passed beyond the rigours of this life without descending into sloth or turning to self-enjoyment. His present desire is to share his life with his people.
Christians and Leisure
Following the redeeming work of Christ, Christians are called to live out the truth that God’s “commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). The law of Christ (Gal 6:2) under which they live may be experienced as a perfect law of liberty (James 1:25). The Spirit is always ready to share with them the joy of Christ (John 15:11; Gal 5:22). As believers “wait upon the Lord” he will renew their strength (Isa 40:31). The Christian life is not hedonistic, but it should not be predictable or boring. Holy fun in many spheres of life – family, entertainment, vacation, games, sport – is within the purposes of God.
The presence of holy fun is a powerful testimony to an unbelieving generation that it has been redeemed. The absence of these things leads us to examine our lives and to ask God where we have become conformed to this world (Rom 12:2). Have we become trapped in the mindless and debilitating leisure pursuits of our times or are we denying the place of leisure in the good purposes of God?