I remember sitting in class on the third floor of an older building in Pasadena about five years ago. The windows were open behind me and the sun’s perpetual rays fell on my shoulders. Outside were the sounds of the city: the garbage trucks and whir of traffic. But, my attention was neither on the traffic nor endless summer. I was focused on my professor as he talked about living well.
"There are three rhythms of life. Play, work and worship. And when we are living well, we do all three things well: we play at our play, we work at our work, and we worship God."
I think that is true for individuals just as it is for whole communities. Individually, it is important to find rhythms of recreation, just as it is important to find time for good work and time to honor something bigger than just "I". I think that's also true for us as a community, as a church. We need a balance of work, play and worship because we become less than human when we lose any of those three - a teetering stool that cannot stand.
However, what I often see occur in myself and in others is not so much a loss of one of those rhythms as misdirection. That same professor I had went on to say to us, "The problems we have occur when we worship our work, we work at our play, and we cease to worship God."
Let there be a warning for us: avoid worshiping our work (demanding fulfillment and meaning from it) and working at our play (demanding success and possession rather than joy and release). Let us be wary when our world becomes very horizontal and human, losing the depth and richness of God.
And, let us take hold of some of these great opportunities before us this summer - starting with this Sunday. We are set to have our annual church picnic out at Doug and Pat Miller's this Sunday following worship, a perfect opportunity for us to move from the rhythm of worship to the rhythm of recreation.
And, if you can't wait until then ... then, yes, you are most welcome to come tomorrow night for the closing of Vacation Bible School. There will be plenty of fun to be had ... and one pastor to dunk.
Blessings,
Wes
"There are three rhythms of life. Play, work and worship. And when we are living well, we do all three things well: we play at our play, we work at our work, and we worship God."
I think that is true for individuals just as it is for whole communities. Individually, it is important to find rhythms of recreation, just as it is important to find time for good work and time to honor something bigger than just "I". I think that's also true for us as a community, as a church. We need a balance of work, play and worship because we become less than human when we lose any of those three - a teetering stool that cannot stand.
However, what I often see occur in myself and in others is not so much a loss of one of those rhythms as misdirection. That same professor I had went on to say to us, "The problems we have occur when we worship our work, we work at our play, and we cease to worship God."
Let there be a warning for us: avoid worshiping our work (demanding fulfillment and meaning from it) and working at our play (demanding success and possession rather than joy and release). Let us be wary when our world becomes very horizontal and human, losing the depth and richness of God.
And, let us take hold of some of these great opportunities before us this summer - starting with this Sunday. We are set to have our annual church picnic out at Doug and Pat Miller's this Sunday following worship, a perfect opportunity for us to move from the rhythm of worship to the rhythm of recreation.
And, if you can't wait until then ... then, yes, you are most welcome to come tomorrow night for the closing of Vacation Bible School. There will be plenty of fun to be had ... and one pastor to dunk.
Blessings,
Wes
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