Morningview Baptist Church

The Bible teaches that God richly gives His people everything to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17).  “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:4-5).  It is not unspiritual or unholy to enjoy the world God has created.  He made it for you and gave it to you to enjoy!  Everything God created is “to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth” (1 Timothy 4:3).

Christians must be careful never to enjoy the creation as though it is an end itself.  That would be worshiping creation rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25).  But, you should enjoy the good things of this world as a means of worshiping God.  Trips to the beach, quiet walks in the park, dating your wife, enjoying your family, playing with your children, sitting on your back porch, watching good movies, reading good novels, listening to good music, spending time with friends, playing games and sports, sleeping, and enjoying delicious food and drink are all deeply worshipful activities when done in obedience to God’s good commandments and for His glory.  It is positively godly and devotional to enjoy God’s creation, common grace, and life in this world, while giving thanks to Him and rejoicing in His bountiful kindness toward us.

There is, of course, a real danger of created things stealing our sinful hearts away from God.  But, there is an equal danger of avoiding or rejecting the good things God has given us as means of worship.  The Apostle Paul warns in Colossians 2:20-23, “Why, as if you were still alive in the world do you submit to regulations – Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch . . . according to human precepts and teachings?  These indeed have an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.”  Only the gospel of Jesus Christ can stop the indulgence of your flesh.  And the gospel does not remove you from the world.  Instead, the gospel transforms the way you live in the world.  If you live in faithful loving obedience to Christ, the material world becomes spiritual.  The mundane becomes sacred.

Look at what the Bible says about how we are to enjoy this world.  The preacher of Ecclesiastes wrote, “Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil – this is the gift of God” (5:19).  God gives you dominion over this world, calls you to work hard for His glory, and then invites you to enjoy the fruit of your labors.  “Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head.  Enjoy life with the wife whom you love” (Ecclesiastes 9:8-9).  God gives you all good things because He is good, and He wants you to enjoy them as gifts from His hand.  It is holy, devotional, and Christian for you to enjoy what God has given you for His sake, while recognizing that nothing in creation can satisfy your heart.

So, the Christian life is not merely to be a life lived in the prayer closet with an open Bible communing with God withdrawn from the world.  That’s one important part of it.  But, you are also to commune with God in the world as you enjoy God’s good gifts in creation.  “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31)