This world offers us many enticing amusements. We’re easily drawn into the latest fads and entertainment trends, social and political dramas, or simply keeping up with the demands at work or if our team won their latest game. To be sure, there’s nothing wrong with any of these by themselves. But we set ourselves up for much heartache and grief when we forget there’s more to life than these things.
On the one hand, we’ve become so attached that we’ve made these things an idol – putting our daily hope in them for the life we desire. While we might still profess our ultimate hope in God, in practice our loyalty lies elsewhere.
At the other extreme, we become so detached that we lose our ability to make meaningful connections with others. And pride is often close at hand when we start to look down on others for making different choices on debatable matters.
A better approach is simply holding these things loosely while we remember there’s still more to life.
For instance, we’re free to enjoy the entertainment, drama, and competition around us when we’re able to keep a proper perspective. Our life does not ultimately depend on the latest developments in any of these areas. Of course, we can still be excited or disappointed with certain outcomes, but this doesn’t make or break our life either way.
Our eyes remain fixed on the story God is telling as our hope is anchored firmly in Christ Jesus. And this allows us to enjoy the many amusements of this life without getting lost in them.
In the end, freely enjoy the amusements this life has to offer, but keep them in proper perspective. There’s more to life than these passing stories and you must keep your heart grounded in the larger story God is telling.
Photo by Jaunathan Gagnon on Unsplash
