Should Christians Enjoy Themselves?

Hello beloved child of God, I hope you’re fine by God’s grace.
Today we’re going to talk about pleasure and enjoyment.

It’s a very important topic especially for people who are suffering from depression.

People who are depressed don’t feel entitled to enjoyment or pleasure. They feel like they don’t deserve to have fun, they don’t deserve to be happy. Since they’re depressed, they’re constantly sad and gloomy, and the belief that they don’t deserve to be happy makes it even worse for them because they intentionally avoid anything which could make them have fun.

It is not a bad thing to enjoy yourself and to experience pleasure so long as those pleasures glorify God and aren’t sinful.

1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Colossians 3:17 NIV

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the Name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

There are good pleasures and sinful pleasures. There are good ways to enjoy yourself as well as there are sinful ways to enjoy yourself. As a Christian, you should seek to focus on the good ways to enjoy yourself and have pleasure, and run away from the sinful ways.

A depressed person has to reintroduce pleasure and enjoyment little by little in their life. This will actually help them to feel better because pleasurable activities make the body secrete endorphins. This improves mood in general.

Here below I will give a list of some good pleasures, and also a list of sinful pleasures.

1. Good Pleasures

1. Meditating on God’s Word
2. Eating chocolate
3. Volunteering at church
4. Creating art
5. Traveling
6. Shopping
7. Listening to music
8. Drinking tea
9. Playing a sport
10. Camping
11. Eating spicy foods
12. Taking a hot bath
13. Gardening
14. Exercising
15. Going to the beach for a walk
16. Reading a good pure novel
17. Finishing a small task
18. Going to a live sporting event
19. Dancing
20. Going out for a meal
21. Getting a massage
22. Visiting a friend
23. Drinking a glass of wine (if you can tolerate wine)
24. Having sex with your spouse (this is for married for people only)
25. Going to a book store
26. Sewing
27. Spending time with family
28. Sitting in the sunshine
29. Cooking something special
30. Hiking
31. Playing with your pets
32. Taking a walk with or without your pets
33. Playing cards or games
34. Smelling fresh flowers
35. Surfing the Internet (Keeping it pure)
36. Taking up a hobby
37. Going to a museum
38. Taking a nap
39. Putting on your sweats after a tough day
40. Going to watch a pure movie
41. Going to a concert or play (make sure the music is pure and shares Biblical values)
42. Going to a comedy club
43. Taking a gym class
44. Flying a kite
45. Taking pictures
46. Pyjama party with same-sex Christian friends
47. Watching birds
48. Taking a scenic drive
49. Drinking coffee (unless you’re allergic or intolerant)
50. Telling a story

Pick up your exercise book and select 10 of these pleasurable activities which you can bring (back) into your daily life.

It will be important to keep track of how you enjoy yourself and to have an enjoyment diary, to write down everyday what you do to enjoy yourself and how you felt. Just like an exercise diary it should keep you motivated to do things to enjoy yourself.

2. Sinful Pleasures

Here below are a few examples of sinful pleasures

1. Drug abuse
2. Prostitution
3. Alcohol to excess
4. Hanging out with bad company
5. Sleeping to excess
6. Watching television endlessly (cultivating laziness)
7. Overeating
8. Sexual promiscuity and sexual immorality in general (including pornography, masturbation )
9. Excessive caffeine consumption
10. Compulsive exercise
11. Shopping beyond your budget
12. Reckless driving
13. Gambling
14. Thrill-seeking through risky behaviors
15. Shoplifting
16. Compulsive eating
17. Self-harm and cutting

So, you can clearly see that there are things through which people get pleasure and enjoyment which don’t glorify God and which are against God’s Word. If it’s something which doesn’t glorify God, if it’s sinful, you need to seek help from God so that He will deliver you from that. It may also be necessary to reach out to some people in your local church to pray for you and counsel you.

You can definitely find enjoyment and pleasure in simple things which glorify God.

Conclusion

Christians have the right to enjoy themselves, so long as it glorifies God and it’s not sinful.

You can find healthy ways to have fun in a way which glorifies God. Enjoying yourself through pleasurable activities will make your body secrete endorphins and this will improve your mood and help you get out of Depression.

However, if you notice that you’re finding pleasure in sinful activities, you can always reach out to God for deliverance and seek help in a Christian community.

Prayer

Father Lord God Almighty, Help me make this decision everyday to run away from sinful pleasures and to seek healthy pleasures which glorify Your Name, in Jesus Christ’s Name. Amen.

It’s Now Your Turn

Did you exercise yesterday? I did. I started my social media exercise diary. You can read it on my Instagram account @victoriaeyog

According to you, what’s the most pleasurable thing you saw on the list of good pleasures above?

Let us know in the comments section.

Don’t forget to share this blog post on your social media accounts and to invite your friends and family members to join us as we’re waging war against depression. You may save a life by sharing.

If you’ve not done it yet, subscribe to my Newsletter so as not to miss any post on depression and also, make sure to invite anyone whom you know is suffering from depression.

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Invitation

Click here if you’re looking for a church. I recommend Elevation Church to you. A wonderful Christ-centered Church in which you aren’t limited by your location and in which you can see what God can do through you.

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God bless you

Victoria Eyog