Job 20:4,5 "Do you not know this from of old, since man was placed on earth, that the exulting of the wicked is short, and the joy of the godless but for a moment?" ESV
More advice from another friend. It probably wasn't what they said that was offensive, but in the way that they said it…because what they said was true. (Of course, why would they be telling Job about the wicked unless they thought he belonged in that camp? If they thought that he was suffering simply because he was being attacked and not because of something that he had done, I think that their words would have been more encouraging…more supportive.)
Back to the truth of what Zophar said. From the very beginning of time this has been true: Boasting is short lived and the fun that comes from godless living does not satisfy long term. This is something that our society needs to figure out. Why? Because we are surrounded with individuals who want to tell us how great they are and we are surrounded by a hedonistic culture. The truth: No one should boast because none of us are great and if you want joy that lasts, do what God wants.
Sometimes it is tempting to toot your own horn. When I think about that, however, who am I exulting…me or God? And frankly, who deserves to be lifted up? Me or God? If I am going to boast, this is what I should boast about: "My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!" Ps 34:2,3 "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." I Cor 1:31
Then joy. I think that what Zophar is referring to here is fun…pleasure. There is nothing wrong in having fun. God created fun. But when that fun comes at the expense of others, or when that fun comes as a result of immoral activity it is godless. It is wicked and it does not last. Fun that lasts is the fun we can have doing what God wants. This fun is really considered joy because it brings inner satisfaction. The other stuff brings inner emptiness. You always are looking for more from another source. When you have godly fun you get this inner sense that this is what it is all about. And as I think about it, I think heaven is going to be a blast.
So today, as I go through my day, boast about God and have godly fun.
1 comment:
Thanks for your blog! I've been thinking about this topic for a long time and am in the process of researching how we Christians can deal with the fun-loving culture in which we live. For about the first 37 years of my life I had the unexamined idolatry of sports and TV. Then, I became a pastor and preached on the text 1 Corinthians 10:31 (Do all to honor God). God convicted me about the idol of pleasure that controlled me as I watched TV and sports. He then enabled me to watch those events while praising him for his creative power in making the amazing human body that can play sports so well and his justice revealed in "justice dramas." When he taught me that lesson, sports no longer controlled me, and my TV watching with praise became a hobby rather than an addictive obsession. He took me off focus on my selfish pleasure and put my attention on him. By the way, I'm researching a book presently entitled Pray and Play, a devotional Bible study that I pray God will use to help believers deal with our fun-loving culture. May God bless your godly fun! Bruce Leiter the Writer.
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