Just For Fun

“My son, if sinners entice you, don’t be persuaded. If they say – “Come with us! Let’s set an ambush and kill someone. Let’s attack some innocent person just for fun!” … my son, don’t travel with that road with them or set foot on their path, because their feet run toward trouble and they hurry to commit murder.”
– Proverbs 1:10-11, 15

How do your feet respond to different situations? Probably not a question we consider daily. Last week I saw a mother dash across a room when her daughter began to fall down the stairs. Now she had fast feet.

The same two feet that race outside to play also drag across the carpet when asked to clean up. They can skip and hop and then kick and stomp.

So many emotions conveyed and we pay little to no attention to them.

We are to teach these words to our children. I doubt many children are encouraged by their friends to “set an ambush and kill someone” but plenty are told told “it’s just for fun.” Why do we tease that person? Why did we light the firecracker and put it in the mailbox? Just for fun.

“Just for fun” can be dangerous. Fun is often nothing more than a selfish desire to escape boredom. We have to teach our children the difference between having fun and having fun at the expense of other people’s feelings or property.

So all this leads to the question – Where should our feet be?

Romans 10:15 tells us “How beautiful are the feet of those who announce the gospel of good things!” Scripture urges us to share the Good News that we are no longer stuck in our sins, that Christ has risen from the dead and provided the way back to a right relationship with God. Why wouldn’t our feet run to share this with everyone around us?

As we walk through the rest of the week, let’s be mindful of our feet and the paths we choose. What activities cause us to hurry and which slow us down?