#1. Life becomes commonplace when all you do is have fun.
This quote is one of many I heard while at a conference last July. It is with much sadness that I can say that I've experienced this first hand. I have let myself slope into this I'll- do-what-I want-to-do mode. Instead of studying or dusting my room I would watch a movie. Instead of getting the most out of my Saturday I would sleep in an extra hour. Instead of reading The Spirit- Controlled Woman I read Pride and Prejudice. Instead of reading my Bible I would get on the Internet. In the end, I only half enjoyed it and was left with a dissatisfying aftertaste.
What was the result of having fun all the time? I felt commonplace. There was nothing special about my life. I was no different than any other person. Life had no meaning and I had nothing to take pride in.
God didn't create us to do whatever we please. When Adam was formed and placed in the Garden of Eden he had to name all the animals (that's a command), he had to be fruitful and multiply (also a command), replenish and subdue the earth, and he couldn't eat of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (a restriction). In the same manner, children are placed under the authority of their parents and are commanded to obey them. Over the years I have heard mama say that a child is happiest when they have boundaries because it makes them feel loved. Even as a young woman I am glad my parents make their wishes known to me such as asking me not to go out at night by myself. Such boundaries make me feel that my parents care about me and don't want me to be harmed.
As adults we often think that we are finally free of all restrictions and commands. We can do whatever we want to do. But we will soon realize that there is no fulfillment in this style of living because that is not God's design. God has a plan, as outlined in the Word of God, and when that plan is followed there are blessings, but when it is not followed God cannot reward us for going contrary to the right path.
So what is the answer? Should I get busy in a church program? Keep my room spotless? Read every Christian book in my possession? None of these things could ever give me fulfillment. Only Christ can make my life meaningful and abundant. Projects will never give me life more abundantly, but seeking God like hidden treasure will. I think Luke 9:23 -24 sums it up very well. "And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it." Follow God and his commands (not our own) and you will find meaning, purpose, and joy in life.
