What Do You Like To Do With Your Free Time?
By Allan E. McNabb

“Free time” is time available for activities we enjoy, such as hobbies.

These are things we do for recreation.

What Is Recreation?
We think of recreation as a leisure activity like playing a game or going to the movies.  But it’s much more than that.

There are two different words spelled “recreation.”  One means to create anew, and the other means to refresh oneself.

Both words are similar, because when we refresh ourselves, we remake ourselves.  For example, after we recreate, we’re not tired and burned out as before — we’re refreshed, restored, like new again.

You see, the word “recreation” that’s used relating regarding leisure activities, originally meant restoration and recovery, and was equivalent to recreate (make new).  So to recqreqate, is to reqcreqate ourselves.

We Should Want To Worship During Free Time
When we assemble and worship, we are refreshed.  We are stimulated to love and good  deeds, and built up in the most holy faith (Heb. 10:24; Jude 1:20).

For example, the refreshing we receive when we worship is reflected in the song we sing, titled, “Revive Us Again.”

I don’t advocate viewing worship as recreation, as the word is used today.

But, since worship refreshes us even more so than activities such as golf and movies, we should desire the refreshment of worship more than refreshment of secular activities.

One way of looking at it, using an archaic meaning of the word recreate, is that we view worship as the most recreational (refreshing, restoring, renewing) activity of life.

Therefore, we desire to worship God more than secular activities we consider recreational.

We Should Want To. . . .
Besides assembling with the saints for worship, there are other spiritual activities we should desire more than recreation.

Bible study, prayer, singing, and doing personal work refresh us more than recreational activities.

But, when we think about doing something fun and relaxing, do we think about spiritual things, or just secular things?

Do we think about having friends over to sing and pray and study on Friday night, knowing we’ll have fun and be encouraged and be refreshed, more than going out to eat?

Or have we deceived ourselves into thinking worship is something we do out of duty, and not something we do because we want to do?

Have we deceived ourselves into thinking worship is not enjoyable or refreshing, and only do worldly things to relax?

Attitude
Let me suggest this attitude.  Spiritual activities are more refreshing than secular activities.

Therefore, we should want to spend more free time with spiritual activities, than secular activities such as going to movies and watching TV and surfing the Internet.

Spiritual Recreation
Now, if you’ll allow a little play on words to make a point, I’d like to talk about spiritual recreation.

God says:

•  “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind . . .” (Rom. 12:2).  
  
  
• “and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him” (Col. 3:10).

We are to renew ourselves to a true knowledge through God’s word.  In other words, we are to reqcreqate ourselves with God’s word — this is spiritual recqreqaqtion.

The Main Point
As Christians, we have a greater desire for spiritual recreation than the things of the world.

We think worship and spiritual activities are the most enjoyable, relaxing, and refreshing things in life, more so than secular activity.

We’d rather spend a relaxing evening with Christians, singing and praying and studying, than watching a movie at a theater with unbelievers while exposing ourselves to a sinful environment.

Sure, it’s great to enjoy the physical things of God’s creation, but do you enjoy spiritual things more?

Now ask yourself, “Do I think this way about my free time, and do my choices reflect this attitude?”