Apples of Gold
Radio Script for May 5, 2008
“The Fun-O-Meter”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
Kids judge everything by how much fun it is.
If it’s fun, then it’s good. And if it isn’t fun then, “Why do I have to do it?”
Kids look at adults, and when they don’t see them having much fun, they think, “I don’t even want to grow up if it’s going to be like that.”
And a lot of kids don’t grow up. They hit their 20’s, and they still judge everything by how much fun it is. They think life should be like their favorite sitcom, one fun moment after another.
Many people live for the weekends. Even though most of those weekends don’t quite live up to expectations, “Just think how much fun we are going to have next weekend!”
People stay in college, as long as it’s fun.
People stay married, as long as it’s fun.
People stay friends, as long as it’s fun.
Work is almost never fun, but after all, you need money to have fun, so try to find a job that’s the least un-fun possible.
America’s pursuit of fun is in overdrive.
No, I don’t think fun is inherently a sin. But I do think it needs to be shoved down our priority list.
“Why, Doug? Why can’t fun be at the top of the list? What’s your problem with having fun?”
Fun is the sugar of life. But sugar out of control can mess you up and even kill you.
First Timothy 5:6 says, “But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives.”
What an odd thing to say. What’s wrong with her living for pleasure? It sounds like it would be…fun. Yet the Bible says if she does that, she is “dead even while she lives.”
What does that mean? It’s like the story I heard about some slaves. One slave found a way to escape. The other slaves were reluctant to flee with him, so he turned to them and said, “If you don’t leave now, you are dead already.”
See, if we live for fun, we become a slave to fun. Now some might say, “That sounds like a good thing.” No, it’s a bad thing.
If you are an employer, do you want to hire someone who is a slave to fun?
If you are married, do you want your spouse to be a slave to fun?
If you are a parent, do you want your child to be a slave to fun?
If you are a friend, do you want your friends to be slaves to fun?
The answer is “no” because if they are a slave to fun, they are as good as dead. They will be worthless as friends and spouses and employees. You are not important to them. Only their fun is important to them.
They will skip work to have fun. As a friend, they will leave you behind if there is more fun to be had elsewhere. As a spouse, they will divorce you if someone more fun comes along.
A person who is a slave to fun is a disaster. A nation that is a slave to fun is too. Oh, we are prosperous enough for now, but check out Proverbs 21:17. Those who love fun will become poor.
A desire for fun even keeps some people from receiving the Gospel. Jesus said so in the Parable of the Sower. Some seed fell among thorns, and was choked out by life’s pleasures. In other words, their focus on fun keeps some people from coming to Christ.
Now what about us? Most of us are not slaves to fun. We’re not that far down the line.
But when we look at our priorities, where does fun come in? Is it pretty high on the list? If so, we need to move it down. Yes, there is a place for fun, but it can’t be what we live for.
So what are we to live for? Jesus said in Matthew 22 that first, we are to love God, and a close second is to love people.
Sometimes loving people means having fun with them. But sometimes loving people isn’t fun at all. Sometimes serving God isn’t fun. Sometimes doing right isn’t fun.
But that’s okay, because we don’t judge life by looking at the Fun-O-Meter. We are not living for fun.
What are we living for? To love the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2008 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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