Musing – Does God want us to Play?

Hebraic Musing – Does God want us to Play?

Many people think of God as dour, somber, and stern.  He is often viewed as a taskmaster up in heaven watching down on us with a scowl.  He is clearly the ultimate authoritarian, so we human beings develop a perspective of the taskmaster God who expects us to work hard, spend lots of time in church, and otherwise be serious about life.  We don’t normally think He wants us waste our time enjoying life, celebrating, or, God forbid, playing!

Therefore, the last line in Psalm 104:24-26 is not readily understood or appreciated.  “How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.  There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number — living things both large and small.   There the ships go to and fro, and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.” NIV  

The Leviathan was a mythic creature, perhaps based on a whale or dolphin.   The Hebrew verb translated as “frolic” is closely related to a word for laughter, or it can be translated as “make sport, jest, play, revel, dance.”   So Psalm 104 celebrates God the Creator who made all things and also created playfulness!  This verb shows up in one of Zechariah’s visions of the future kingdom of God – “The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.” Zech.8:5  Are we expected to become child-like?!?!  Can we be child-like now?

Yes, God created the world to be productive.  He created us in his image, calling us to be fruitful and multiply, to work so that the world might be filled.  Work stands at the center of our purpose for living, but God also created play.  He made us with the capacity to jest, to dance, to laugh.  The example of Leviathan encourages us to enjoy life, to do things that are not necessarily productive in the ordinary sense, though they produce delight, health, and community. Our playfulness reflects the creative intentions of our playful God.

Quoting Mark Roberts* – “Yes, we are to work.  Yes, we are to rest.  Yes, we are to live our lives in worship to you.  But we are also to play, to enjoy the beauty and freedom and delight of life.”

An old song keeps coming to mind and it seems appropriate to repeat – ♫ “Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think.  Enjoy yourself, while you're still in the pink.  The years go by, as quickly as a wink, Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself, it's later than you think.”♫

In the next couple days, do something fun, something playful.  Try to sense God’s delight in your enjoyment. And then thank God for the gift of play.

Points to ponder

Before reading this, what did you think of playing?
Was playing thought to be part of God’s design for creation?

Have you ever gotten a kick out of watching your children at play?
Does Our Father God have fun watching His kids having fun?

What playful activities do you enjoy?

Lord, help me to be playful in a way that honors you.

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                      August 7, 2018

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”

*  Inspired and excerpted from Mark D. Roberts – “The God of Play”  Apr. 13, 2018