Thinking Like a Child…Again

Last night I watched a baby crawl across the dining room floor.  Behind her was her two year old sister.  Behind her was my friend, Mary.  I am not going to tell you Mary’s age, but let’s just say she is my age, whatever that might be.  In a room full of adults she crawled right in line with the other children.  I liked it.

Children are playful.

Playful is the quality that sees the world as something to engage, rather than simply observe.

Playful is the quality that sees joy in ordinary circumstances, and is eager to squeeze even more joy out of any given moment.

Playful is the quality that keeps children from taking themselves too seriously.

Sometimes it is the very quality that so tires out the adults around.  Children seem to have an insatiable appetite to play.  Adults seem satiated.  But I fear it is not play that has done this to them.

I was in a setting where some folks were hearing the Lord speak personal words for people, and then sharing them with the individuals in the room.  The words were intensely personal, and were so deeply true that it was clear God was speaking.  One of the people approached me and looked at me.  She kept looking at me and finally she just said, “Play!”

“Play, play, play, play play,” she kept repeating, “the Lord wants you to play.”

I thought I had gotten the message when she got to the punch line.

“Children don’t burn out when they are playing, that is something adults invent”, she said.

Play engages the heart as well as the mind.  It connects to other people.   It engages aliveness in a two way exchange.  It allows playmates to feed joy and life to one another.

A year or so ago our staff took a half a day to go play.  In a time of intensity and heaviness, I found myself playing air hockey.  And then shooting baskets in a row of other staff members, trying to outshoot one another.  Laser tag, bowling, the list grew.  By all standards I should have been getting tired.  Instead I was laughing, and found my energy level increasing.  In some cases I was laughing so hard that my head hurt.  I felt my heart beat again.  I felt a connection to people I seldom saw.  I felt the flow of life.

I think playfulness is at the root of joy.  It is the soil in our soul which allows joy to take root and grow.  It keeps us constantly aware that we are children and we have a Father.

Some people own games or toys and they work hard at them, while others seem to be able to play in the midst of a simple conversation.

Play is not about the activity nearly as much as it is about how we approach the activity.  Competition can be fun, or it can be mean-spirited.  Games can be about playfulness or they can be about insecurity.

I am certain fun is a fruit of the Spirit.  I have seen it in Galatians 5.  Love Fun Peace, patience…

John Wimber had a great way of describing the inclusiveness and engagement of the power of the Gospel on earth.  During times of intense ministry he would hand over the reigns to those nearby, give a few simple instructions and then remind us all.

“Everyone can play.”

I think he was on to something.