When you hear the word “leisure,” what comes to mind?
Do you picture somebody eating grapes and being fanned by servants? Perhaps you imagine yourself lying on the couch watching a movie or scrolling the phone. Or maybe it’s kicking back in a chair on the beach, cold drink in hand.
Leisure is one of those topics that might seem to fall outside the domain of a Christian worldview on productivity. I mean, isn’t leisure just the fun stuff we do? What does that have to do with the Bible? What does that have to do with Christian productivity?
But the truth is that rest, and more specifically, the enjoyment of our times of rest is itself part of our stewardship from God. But to do that well, we need to understand leisure biblically.
The Bible on Leisure
Leisure isn’t one of those topics you often hear about in church. And you might wonder if the Bible even has much to say on the topic. But in his book Leisure and Spirituality, Paul Heintzman observes that the Bible frequently speaks about leisure. It discusses Sabbaths, feast days, rest, hospitality, fellowship, dance, music, and festivals. These are all leisure activities.
And the book of Ecclesiastes speaks glowingly of the enjoyment we should take in both our work and leisure.
“Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God.”
Ecclesiastes 5:18–19
In fact, one of the verses we most frequently cite in speaking of our duty to glorify God in all that we do, specifically mentions glorifying Him in leisure activities:
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31
Indeed, our leisure time is a massive opportunity for worship if we view it as a gift from God.
Leisure as Worship
Rest isn’t just something you do to be more productive later; it is not a necessary evil that frail humans must begrudgingly acquiesce to. Our moments of recreation are a gift from God. Thus, they are to be received and enjoyed with thanksgiving.
When we enjoy the good things God’s given us, we honor Him. The Lord is so rich toward us in His blessings, even in the little things of life, like food, parties, or moments with loved ones. But what makes all the difference is how we receive these good things. Do we rush through them to get back to work? Or do we enjoy them with gratitude?
The gratitude piece is the lynchpin of the whole thing. When you plop down on the couch after a hard day, kicking up your feet and letting out a sigh, don’t forget to say, “Thank you, Lord.” This, too, is a gift from God.
Leisure as Fellowship
Many Christians have unthinkingly adopted a view of leisure that sees rest time as synonymous with me time. But this is a historical anomaly.
Leisure in the ancient world was almost always done with others. Look back at Heintzman’s list above—feasts, festivals, dance, friendship—in the ancient world, leisure time was people time. What changed?
In her foreword to C.R. Wiley’s The Household and the War for the Cosmos, Nancey Pearcey observers how leisure become more and more of a private affair after the Industrial Revolution:
“Eventually not only economic production but also a host of social functions were moved out of the home… recreation became something you buy at the movie theater or engage in alone on your private electronics.”
As entertainment has been outsourced from the home and community to the entertainment industry, leisure has increasingly become a “me and my device” situation. But it really shouldn’t be.
I was recently reading a book about a guy who went device-free for 7 weeks, spending part of that time living in a monastery in which parts of the day they were restricted from speaking. He talked about how he had always considered himself an introvert, but after just two days away from the constant drip of entertainment, he found himself desperately craving conversation.
This is how it used to be.
We used to entertain each other. Leisure was part and parcel of community—shared music, shared meals, shared lives. This is why Josef Pieper could boldly claim that leisure is “the basis of culture.” What kind of culture are we creating when leisure is something done mostly alone?
How to Better Steward Your Leisure
All of this just makes me wonder, what if we took leisure more seriously?
What if we viewed our enjoyment of the blessings of God as a tremendous and glorious duty, an opportunity to worship Him with thanksgiving and strengthen our bond with family, neighbor, and church member?
I’ll conclude with three principles we might apply to manage our leisure time better.
First, don’t always outsource your entertainment. The sweetest moments of leisure are when we create our entertainment with others.
Second, do the hard work of creating better recreation. It’s easier to turn on a movie than to have a friend over for dinner. But high-quality leisure requires a little more work. We think we’re too tired for this, but I’ve found that the irony is that the more effort we put into leisure, the more restful it tends to be.
Third, bring an attitude of thanksgiving to God for all of life. More than anything else, God-honoring leisure is an attitude of the heart. We must continually remind ourselves and one another that every good gift comes from above (James 1:17), so we must always say thank you as we enjoy our Father’s good gifts for His glory.
