Escapist Entertainment, Part 2

Written By Paeter Frandsen-

(Part 1 of this article may be found here.)

My tendency, when faced with stress or discomfort, is to pray "Jesus, take this away or help me to learn from it what I need to so it can be over." And that prayer is pretty brief, so that I can move on to "escaping" into the land of Faerun. It's my pattern throughout the day to frequently connect with God in prayer, but these are usually "on the go" prayers or quick mental shout-outs to God when I'm "in the trenches". Then about once or twice per day during the work week I'll spend a few or at most 10 minutes in dedicated prayer time.

This has been the norm for me for years now. It's not natural for me to put my life on hold for more than a few minutes to converse at length with Jesus. Metaphorically speaking, I'd rather fire off a quick text than tie myself up in a phone conversation with him. But if we turn to geek entertainment to escape or find comfort and think of this more "relational" time with God as a chore or waste of time, I suspect we're doing it wrong. Otherwise these claims from scripture don't make much sense:

(2 Corinthians 1:3-4, ESV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

It's worth noting that the Greek word used for "affliction" here means "a pressing together" or "pressure". Maybe you and I don't often experience what we'd call "affliction", but this verse applies to "pressure", too. If you know what it's like to feel "under pressure", these words apply to you, too!

(2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, ESV) Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

(Psalm 16:11, ESV)  You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. 

(Matthew 11:28-30, ESV)  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

If these words from Jesus are more than just nice-sounding fluff to be quoted in sermons, then I ought to seriously and repeatedly rethink where my instincts take me when I want to escape from life or recharge myself. But if entertainment is an inferior source of comfort, how can we find comfort in Yahweh that is even more real and tangible? What does it practically look like to "Come to" Jesus? And how exactly do we find rest in that interaction with him?

Well, I'm very new to the practice of building extended, relational time with God into my schedule, so take these as the observations of a total noob. That said, I'll start with some observations from scripture and then share a little of my small amount of initial experience.

(2 Samuel 22:31-32, ESV) This God— his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.  "For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God?

(Psalm 119:50, ESV) This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.

Comfort is found in reflecting on the truths that God has revealed in scripture. Remembering what he has said and applying it to our specific situations.

(Philippians 4:6-9, ESV) do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

"In everything by prayer and supplication". God doesn't want us to only talk to him about the weighty spiritual stuff, but about everything! And we're also meant to steer our hearts and minds toward being thankful, recalling all the good we have because of God. Beyond that, we're to fixate our minds in general on things that are good and worthwhile. If we do these things, God will be with us. Specifically in his role as "the God of peace". If we want to have real peace from the stress and chaos of life, if we want to be truly "recharged" to tackle whatever comes at us next, we ought to spend time intentionally focusing our minds in the right directions.

At this point, I can almost hear what you might be thinking, because it's my instinct to think it, too. "Okay, guess I need to do more Bible study." But that's not exactly what I'm suggesting here. Yes, it all starts with scripture. It has to. So don't cut any time from your study of scripture unless the time is unproductive. After all, it's scripture that informs us of our need to spend dedicated time with God. But studying scripture requires intense intellectual focus. Extended focus of this kind can burn us out before we give what we've learned an opportunity to sink in on an emotional level. And that's where I tend to fail.

I discovered recently that because I spend a good amount of time each day in study of scripture for work that my mental stamina has little left for the same kind of study in my more personal time with God. I cringe a little when I hear about Christians who only spend their times with God in prayer or meditation and their Bible remains regularly unexamined. But at the same time I've recently concluded that I've been neglecting prayer and quiet contemplation for too long, and this neglect has kept me from truly looking forward to my personal, dedicated time with Jesus.

Recently, as I've recognized my need for additional, and essentially different, time with God, I've changed how that time is spent. Because of my other habits in more intellectual examination of scripture, I've given myself "permission" to be less cerebral in my more personal quiet time, instead making time for extended, silent contemplation of my day and my own heart, peeling back layers of my character and facing some dark realities about myself that have contributed to my stress. In an attempt to imitate Jesus I've started to make dedicated, relational solitude with God a regular priority. Solitude that includes the kind of contemplation and dialogue found in the Psalms. Dialogue in which my mess is exposed but in which I also feel the freedom to express open frustration with God. (See Psalm 10:1 for one example of this. Then keep reading the rest of the book. You'll find plenty more.)

I've neglected this kind of extended solitude, contemplation and dialogue for so long that it was very difficult at first. In fact the first few times I approached things this way, I repeatedly, angrily and openly told God that "I'd rather be playing Baldur's Gate 2 right now." (I've found that getting alone enough to talk out loud has been helpful. Being verbal and open with him about those feelings actually helped to "clear the air" and also expose weaknesses in my character.) Instead of trying to convince myself that I was feeling good, "basking in God's presence", I just dumped my crap on the table and said, "I don't want to be here, God. This feels stupid and like a frickin' waste of time!"

I think conversations like these are both valuable and scriptural, and easier to have in light of God's incredible mercy, which makes even arguments with God safe. (Romans 8:1, ESV "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus") And after getting those things out of my system I found I could move on and actually listen for what God might be bringing to my mind. I could better listen for those thoughts triggered by The Holy Spirit that, while consistent with scripture, were also tailored for my specific circumstances. After spouting off about my desire to play video games, I pretty easily saw the weakness in my character, which made me grateful for his tireless grace, and before long I found myself glad to be spending time with him.

After engaging with God in a new and deeper way, starting things off with an argument, and then seeing and acknowledging broken parts of myself in the process, Psalm 32 comes alive for me in a new way.

(Psalm 32:1-11, ESV) Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.  "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you." Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD. Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

It's been about four weeks since I started this new approach to my time with God. I'm still just a baby in this. But already I've noticed that I think about the clock less and less, often losing track of time in my quiet conversing and listening. I've also noticed a subtle increase in my day to day contentment, a faster readiness to take my concerns to God throughout the day, a (for now very slightly) greater willingness to think of and serve others before myself, and a consistently greater sense of emotional rejuvenation after my time with God.

I've also found that I enjoy my entertainment more when it's not burdened with the responsibility of rescuing and recharging me. Instead it can simply be what it was meant be: Not an "escape", but just a crazy ton of fun.