Living in this society that values work but discounts the value of play, the idea of playing more may seem like a luxury you can’t afford. But from a biblical perspective, your value has never been tied to your work productivity. From God’s perspective, you’re a beloved child, and children are meant to play. When you give yourself permission to enjoy more play in your life, you’re essentially telling God that you trust him to meet your needs, so you can take a break from working without worrying about taking a break. This is connected to God’s command to take a break from work to enjoy a Sabbath day every week. The Sabbath is a valuable time to rest for renewal and revival, and play is an important part of that process. By playing, you can discover God’s joy in fresh ways that expand your perspective. In Ecclesiastes 8:15, the teacher says: “So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.”
To add more play to your life, you have to create space for whimsical activities that have no purpose other than enjoyment. You can pull out a box of crayons and draw something, just because you enjoy the creative process of doing so. Or, you can build a fort with blankets in your living room and enjoy playing there, together with your children and pets, for a while. There are countless possibilities you can imagine for enjoying more play in your life. When you play, pay attention to the freedom you feel as a result. Play reminds you that you can be free to do something you enjoy when you trust that God is caring for you well. As you allow yourself to be playful through whimsical activities, you’ll find that your confidence in God’s love for you grows. You’ll train yourself to trust God’s care for you at all times, so you can take breaks from working whenever you need to and really enjoy those breaks
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