DISCIPLE PLAYTIME

THE DISCIPLE AT PLAY

            So far there has seemed to be no contradiction of terms in the subjects which have come under our consideration. Among all sections of Christians there would be a consensus of opinion as to the rightness of considering "The Disciple at Home" and "The Disciple at Work." I do not anticipate any con­flict of opinion concerning any subsequent division of this subject. I can, however, imagine that there may be a doubt in the mind of some with regard to the title at the head of this article: and yet it is of such enormous importance, that to omit it were not only to render the study incomplete, but to do positive injustice to the follower of Christ who, upon this of all subjects, is feeling his or her need of direct and wholesome teaching. The fact that large numbers of young people lose their spirituality here is due, not to the inconsistency of play, but rather to lack of clear teaching, and therefore of failure to understand the true position of the child of God in reference on these subjects. Let us apply ourselves to a two­fold consideration — first as to the fact of play in the life of discipleship, and then to the limits which are marked off for those who are learning of Christ in this as in all matters.

            1. The very first truth to be understood and kept in mind is that of the purpose of Christ in the pres­ent probationary stage (here on earth) of human life. I have already emphasized the fact that the Master is preparing us for an end, which is beyond the present life alto­gether. By that I abide. It must, however, be remem­bered that, while in Christ I gain more blessings than my father’s lost, the very first business of the great scheme of redemption and instruction is the restoration of man to the divine ideal of human life here. The man who most truly manifests the beauties of human life in all its bearings, most truly proves his progress toward and preparation for the glory following his stay here on earth that has not yet been revealed. A human being developed on one side of his nature, to the damage or contraction of another, is by so much thwarting a divine purpose, damaging a divine ideal. This we readily admit in some cases. Such, for instance, as the development of flesh to the injury of spirit. It is just as true of a man who loses his power for stern work in his abandonment to play. It is equally true of a man who cannot play because his power to do so has become deadened by ceaseless toil. The power to laugh, to cease work, and frolic in forgetfulness of all the conflict, to make merry, is a divine bestow­ment upon man, and its absence in any case is as sure a mark of the damaging effects of sin, as is the bubbly life of the devotee of miscalled pleasure who never contributes anything to the work of his gen­eration. This power is based upon the wisdom of God, and His knowledge of the needs of the crea­tures of His hand. To this all scientific statement bears witness. Every medical man knows the enor­mous value of prescribing change, exercise, cessation of toil, and pure amusement, in order that there may be better work, harder blows, more clear thinking, and that the sum total of the life may be of a higher order: and what is true medical science but a discovery of the laws of God for the well-being of the creatures of His love? Now Jesus did not come to contradict or set aside any great law of human life, and most certainly not that which thus provides for the highest development of man. He has come to interfere here as everywhere else, and to restore play to its proper place in every life; and though He gave His followers no set of rules, He has given them in His teaching great principles, which will adjust these matters as perfectly as all others.

            Before turning to consider them, let me state with perfect clearness that especially in this age of cease­less activity, which is over and over again more worldly than godly, and in the whirl and rush of which every man, whether he be a Christian or not, is necessarily caught up and carried forward, it is an absolute necessity, and therefore a solemn duty, that the follower of Christ should learn how to play with­in proper limits, that so he may be the stronger man for the stress of the age, and to confront its rush, and restlessness, and weakness, with his testimony to the peace, and quietness, and tremendous force of the life possessed by, and matured in God.             Per­haps I may put this most forcefully by a personal illustration. I find no final preparation for the de­livery of a Sunday message — messages for which I must first solemnly have sought, not only by prayer, but also by stern application to study and thought — equal to a Saturday afternoon in com­pany with some fellow-disciple, with my bag of clubs, "driving" a golf ball over, and sometimes into, "bunkers," "teeing up" and "holing out;" and I can stride over the grass and through the bushes and sand, singing with perfect sincerity:

I feel like singing all the time,

My tears are wiped away;
For Jesus is a friend of mine,

I'll serve Him every day.

            2. Now as to the limits of play for the disciple. They are found by natural sequence, in that condi­tion of life in which I never for a moment forget that I am Christ's, and my loyalty to Him is unques­tioning and constant. How will that one great prin­ciple affect my play? In two ways: first, in the realm of my personal realization of His purpose for me, and second, in my relationship with Him for the accomplishment of His purpose in all those with whom I come in contact.

            As we have seen, the purpose of Jesus is the perfecting of my being. It follows, therefore, most clearly that my play must ever be creative in char­acter, and never destructive. Further, the complexity of human life must be considered. Man is neither body, soul, nor spirit, separately He is body, soul, and spirit, and between these different sides of his complex nature there is the closest and most subtle interrelation, so that he cannot possibly do injury to either side without injuring himself as a whole.

            To destroy my physical power is to weaken my mental, and that is for today, at any rate, to limit the opportunity for the culture of the spiritual. Any form of play, then, that injures my physical powers or dwarfs my mental vigor, or takes away my spiri­tual sense, is impossible for me as a disciple of Christ. That play, and only that, which creates, and so fits for larger service, is legitimate.

            Then further, I cannot in the power of the Christ-life live only for myself. I am not to seek recreation by any means which involves injury to my friends, even though the doing thereof may seem to be of direct benefit to me. Let me not be misunderstood. I do not say that because one man abuses bowling by wasting all his time there to, I am not to play. I do say that if I see bowling has such a fascination for a friend of mine as to make him liable to neglect his sterner work, I am to be "narrow" enough to refuse to play with him unless he is playing upon the very conditions which make for his development only, as I play upon for mine. The relative law is that I only have fellowship, even in play, with a friend upon the principles which are highest and best for him, and never upon what he sets up for himself, if they are lower than the highest. Neither can I consent to be amused in any form by that which is debasing the life of those who amuse me. I have purposely avoided naming any forms of play except those that would be looked upon as legitimate in proper time and place by al­most every Christian. This avoidance has been due to the fact that I very strongly desire in this, as in every detail of life, to throw the disciple upon the Master for direct guidance, and this because I am persuaded there is no other safe course, because there is no other unfailing and infallible authority. Jesus makes a specialty of every individuality, and He alone can do this. That which may be perfectly law­ful and right for me may be a sin to my brother, and that which I dare not do at the risk of losing my spiritual force, he may find conducive to his highest advancement. Let each one seek the Lord's direct pleasure, and be true to that, and there can be no mistake; but by following human examples, or mak­ing others the standard of what one may or may not do, one will be constantly liable to get into places of positive danger. These principles in application will be found most drastic, and yet will bring us into the air of perfect liberty. There are some forms of worldly amusement debasing and injurious in themselves, and some which are procured at the cost of the degradation and ruin of others. Against all these the disciple by word and life should be a con­stant protest. One of the surest ways to combat them, is to manifest in our lives the joyousness of discipleship, and that, in our power to play purely and perfectly, as surely in the light of the divine love as when we pray or preach.