Enjoy!

During my formative years I went to a Christian school which aggressively taught about the “evil pleasures of this life”.  Even as a kid this sounded extreme to me and didn’t seem to make much sense when you think about all that God has made, that these well meaning Christians were teaching us to avoid.

As I progressed in my faith, my age, and my walk with God, I began to come across passages that, at the very least, seemed inconsistent with what I was being taught.  Such as this…

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. – John 10:10nlt

To my young mind, “…rich and satisfying life.” truly meant that Jesus wanted me to actually enjoy some things!  But, alas, I was just a young buck, what did I really know.

Then as I went on to college I was challenged with even more passages and foundational principles that rocked this ideology to it’s very core…

…Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. – 1 Timothy 6:17b nlt

Now, I not only didn’t believe what had been taught to me, but I saw within it the insidious deception that has led so many people to become ‘sour-pous’ Christians.  Somewhere along the lines, someone had decided that being a Christian meant never enjoying life, never experiencing the rush of reality, insulating ones self from anything that could even have a wiff of un-spirituality.  This thought process leads to a stale, lifeless, and yes, God-less faith that cannot withstand the daily onslaught of the evil one.

What the Bible REALLY teaches is exactly what that little verse says, Trust God/Enjoy Life!  In other words, put all of your hope, dreams, life into the hands of the only one who is powerful enough, wise enough, and faithful enough to see you through.  Then walk through life and enjoy all that God brings your way; the relationships, the experiences, the joy, and even the sorrow.

My friends, I compel you!  Trust God…Enjoy Life…LIVE!