Men should play

As I prepare to head off to our annual HIT Men Paintball retreat weekend, I am reminded that it is important for men to play.  I know so often I pick serious topics for this blog, but really it is serious.  Men are too often confined to a regular routine of work in a job that binds them into a lifestyle that keeps them from enjoying life.  Often men think they enjoy life because they enjoy their job, but this is not really the case very often.  Most men only talk so much about enjoying their job, because it is the place where they spend the most time and get the most recognition.

For a man to live in the freedom and be the man God designed him to be, he must learn to enjoy life outside of work.  He must learn to enjoy his wife, family, friends, Church, community, etc...  A healthy "play" time can go along way in this regard.  We see it often that men like to play, they have "toys" like quads, trucks, guns, dirt bikes and other such things, yet very little of their play time is healthy.  Let's take a minute to identify a couple of ways "play time" can be healthy.

1. Include your wife, family, friends, etc...  It is always better with the people you care about.
2. It should be fun for you to do, but not essential for you to do.  In other words do not let yourself become addicted to your "play time".  You should be able to say no to it or yes to it.
3. It should not cause you huge financial strain.  A hobby or past time that causes your financial trouble is not going to be fun for long.
4. You should be able to live your Faith while you do it.  If your "play time" causes you to become someone that you knwo does not please God, then it needs to change.
5. Balance, Balance, Balance ... did I say Balance?  Yes we need to remember to keep life in proper balance.  It is not a capital crime to take a weekend to go camping or hunting etc... However if we set ourselves a lifestyle where we fill too much of our time with "play" at the expense of other things then we will hurt our relationship with God and the people who are important to us.

 I have seen many times where guys get into a past time and they miss Church or men's group because of it, then they miss a few more.  They end up distancing themselves from the community of faith and one day wonder why their spiritual life seems dry and has lacked growth.  Making excuses like "well I go out with a couple of other Christians each weekend" do not fly.  All that means is you are not going down alone, you are working on wrecking your life with a team.

If you have found yourself choosing your "play time" over your time with God, Church, wife, family, friends etc...  then you are in trouble.  You can tell if you have because God will seem distant, even thought He is not.  Your wife will seem upset about the time, money and energy you expend without her, and she is right.  You will wonder why when you do show up a t Church or men's meeting that you don't seem to know many people and feel disconnected, thats because you are disconnected and you need to be around to get to know people.

Maybe I sound harsh, but the reality is men need their "play time" but they need to remember to keep it healthy.  So let's get out there and play, have fun, build relationships, and get re-energized to be back where we need to be so that balance is kept.

Maker it so

Preacherman