The Essential Balance: Fun

THURS., MAY 14, 1987, 6:23 AM
FARM, STUDY

In the midst of summer you shall have the opportunity to preach to your own congregation about the wee possibility that I, the Triune God, have a sense of fun and humor. Undoubtedly at that time the news will be full of tragedies of different varieties. Into that seriousness you shall try to interject the balancing concept that I am still in full charge of this earthly plane, and that I go about My “supervisory” tasks with a definite spirit of fun.

Apply this principle to what you now are doing. You are receiving a Teaching from Me, the Holy Spirit. It is a process with which you are quite familiar and comfortable. You knew you were to be here this morning, so you came, but more dutifully than joyfully. Even when the title indicates We shall deal with fun on this lovely morning you spirit is not matching this theme. Come on, o son… where’s the spirit of fun in being a merry servant of Mine?!

The estrangement in your church congregation that developed around Duane’s marital shifting has a certain serious, tragic quality to it, but this hiatus also brings the opportunities to hear different members of the congregation with a variety of messages to share. What fun it is for Me to experience what a congregation can do for itself. It is important to have educated preaching, but the important balance is… how is this affecting lives in that congregation, and how can these effects be shared!? It shall not be surprising to many to hear you bring this message about fun and humor. Your deserved reputation is that of bringing forth the joy of the gospel. I like this, and urge you to “keep it up.”

The writers of what has become Holy Scripture had little to say about fun and laughter, as such. Yet the concept of joy is a familiar one, and the vital question then arises, “Isn’t there a direct relationship between joy and a sense of fun… and a sense of humor?” The quick and correct answer is, “Of course.” The angels proclaimed that the tidings of My birth as Jesus were tidings of great joy. I was actually going to be in the world in bodily form. What an incredibly serious venture! And, at the same time, what a funny thing for an All-Powerful Yahweh to do!

The spirit of fun is hidden in the Holy Scriptures like a “pearl of great price.” It is there for those who have ears to hear. One important aspect of enlightenment or spiritual maturity is the capacity to see this balance that I am – weeping and laughing… mourning and dancing. It is important that David be remembered as My most all-around servant. He killed for Me. He ruled with might. He shattered the sexual control commandment. And he danced before Me with the sense of joy that was evident in few other servants. I urge you to look for that spirit of fun as you read the Scriptures. (I did want you to finish Jeremiah, but I admit there’s not much fun in those long passages.)

I am pleased when some of you, servants and not-so, define problems in human living and then work diligently on solutions to these problems. The concern is real when the solution to one problem becomes another problem, perhaps even more vexing. I then look for the balance. It may be in the same individual, being able to balance this concern for problems with a spirit of fun. Or the balance may have to be in others, whose role in life is to see the humor in the dire affairs of the moment and of history. And there are many variations of this desired balance.