Parchment & Pen Blog

This is an interesting question: Is sin fun? The answer, I guess, is going to depend on how you define the word “fun.” We are going to enter into some subjectivity here aren’t we? Wait, I am getting ahead of myself.

I have often her Christians talk about the “pleasures of sin.” In this context, the pleasures of sin are not said to be pleasures at all. It is said to be a “pseudo-pleasure.” It is not really fun. “Here, enter into our world. You will see that sin is not really fun, you just think it is. Join us so that your fun can no longer be fun.”

I was talking to a friend the other day who was not a believer. He said “Michael, I like to have fun. If I become a Christian, I will not be able to have fun any longer. I like my friends and I don’t want to lose them. Our connection is in what we do together. What is wrong with that? Why does God get so upset when we have fun?”

I was not comfortable with the standard answer above.

Sin is fun. At least it can be. I admit to this. I am an expert at both sin and fun. I like one, but often find the former a necessary conduit to this latter.

Now, obviously, we would not classify all sin as “fun.” Exploding in uncalled for anger is not fun. Worry is not fun. Demeaning others for the sake of self-security is not really fun. In many cases, the deepest sinful bents we have are not practiced for the sake of fun.

But some sin is fun and fun is our motivation for this sin. No, it is not pride, hate, or lack of faith that catapults us into this sin . . . it is just plain fun. It is to remedy the often mundane boring circumstance we find ourselves in. Escape from reality? Maybe. But it is often the reality we feel we are compelled to. Who wants to be bored. Boredom and escape from what we believe to be a trapped personality waiting to happen, can cause us to say, “What the heck! What harm does it really do? If we have a good time while engaging in some sin and as long as no one gets hurt, what’s the problem?”

This is not a defense of sin. God’s word is our ultimate authority, not our definition and drive for fun. Often the Christian life will be boring. Often doing what is right feels to go against our natural inclination for the fuller life. I think that this is what is so hard for some of us to realize. The “fuller life,” “fun,” and “pleasure” often change from day to day, having many dependencies. Personal instability will redefine everything. Telling a non-Christian that they are not really having fun may be the wrong direction to take. As well, I don’t think that this is the best direction for Christians to take in own own battle against sin.

Yes, there is pleasure in sin for a season, but that “season” may be our entire life.

Anyway, these are some intentionally random thoughts without much by way of concluding thoughts.

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• What is the Witness of the Spirit and Why Don’t I Have it?
• How bad can a Christian’s theology be?
• Why is God So Silent?