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Have you noticed that some people really enjoy being Christians and others seem completely bored by the Lord’s business? You may have also noticed that the former group is usually ready and willing to do anything they can to further the Cause while the latter must be begged or baited to elicit even a minimal level of service. What makes the difference? Perhaps the answer is found in an article entitled “Why Fun Is Fun,” in a Reader’s Digest, May 1977. The article describes the research of a psychologist, Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. His conclusion is that ultimate fun or enjoyment is derived when one so completely immerses himself in what he is doing that he loses his sense of self and time. Dr. “C” calls this complete involvement flow.
The following unique features are present when one is in flow: One centers his attention intensely on the activity involved; he loses track of time—it passes very rapidly; he loses self-consciousness and has the sense of being in full control and of well-being. Another important factor Dr. “C” discovered is that for one to enter the flow state, a given activity must provide a challenge at the outer limits of one’s abilities, without testing him beyond his limits. If we are not challenged, we become bored, but if challenged too far, fear and anxiety replace enjoyment.
There is much food for thought in the doctor’s conclusions. There is also much agreement with Scripture in them. Why do many not enjoy serving Christ? Because they have remained detached from Him in spirit and substance. Paul enjoyed his religion, and he tells us why: “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me” (Gal. 2:20). He had so centered his attention on Christ that he lost his self-consciousness. Most experienced preachers can identify with this concept. Often a young mother will apologize for the crying of her baby during a sermon and the preacher will confess to being so involved in the sermon he was preaching that he didn’t hear her baby. He was too involved in what he was saying to notice. This probably explains why Paul preached until midnight in Troas (Acts. 20:7) and why the time flies before a preacher realizes it when he is preaching. One loses a sense of time when he is totally immersed in an enjoyable activity.
Many Scriptures come to mind (Mat. 6:33; 22:37; Luke 9:23, etc.) They require total involvement; they tell us how to enjoy being a Christian.
[Note: I wrote this article for, and it was published in the July 7, 1977, edition of the Granbury Gospel, weekly bulletin of the Granbury Church of Christ, Granbury, Texas, of which I was editor.
Attribution: From thescripturecache.com; Dub McClish, owner and administrator.
