When Work Becomes Fun

Last week Barry Bonds broke one of the longest standing records in Major League Baseball. He hit more homeruns than Hank Aaron. Now the circus has come to town: The fight for the record breaking ball, and the debate whether he should keep the title because of steroid use. Yep a veritable circus.
So much hype, so much controversy. Of course, I guess there should be, after all, it is one of the most important jobs in our country. Surely you don’t disagree with that statement? MBL players get paid more than you. It’s a serious job that impacts thousands of lives everyday on a deeply spiritual level. Right?
When did the play of baseball become work? When did the metamorphosis take place? How can a group of kids playing a fun sport progress into a serious job full of pressures, deadlines, social struggles, and performance records? Do you remember when you actually thought your job was fun? Do you remember when you viewed your life as important to society? Isn’t it amazing how things can change? How our thought processes can slowly shift from one stream of thought to another, seemingly overnight, but in actuality it happens over time.
We start out doing our jobs living our lives with a little adrenaline surge. That little tickle right behind our heart that says, “Yea this is good. We are going to make a difference.” And then within a few short moments it seems our idea of fun has quickly turned into work. Well you’re not alone. I think most people have drifted into the work life as apposed to the fun life. There is an option.
My dad told me, “Son, find something you love to do and you’ll never have to work another day in your life.” It took me about fifteen years to even figure out what that meant, but it’s good, real good. Of course not everyone is able to do what they love to do. Some people have to work a thankless job just to put food on the table and keep the lights on. No passion, no fun. Never was, and there never will be. So that’s when we have to work at the fun.
The bible says that the joy of the Lord is our strength. If that’s true (which I am positive that it is), then if we are not joyful, then we are not socially, mentally, and spiritually strong. We lack vigor. I find it interesting that so many people struggle with so many things, and it really all boils down to the fact that they are weak in certain areas, which in turn shows a lack of joy.
Joy is not something you either have or you don’t. It’s not like there are some blessed people out there that have all the joy and you got the short end of the stick. No, Joy is something that you willingly tap into. The sad thing is that most people don’t tap into this supernatural joy. It’s not because they don’t want to, in reality it’s just that they are so consumed with work that they don’t take the time to find the joy that is right there waiting for them. God has made His joy available to everyone, but we have to climb out of the rut we are in and actually find it. It takes a little work to tap into it and find it. It requires a re-shifting of our thoughts, but that extra effort is the difference between a joyful strong life, and a mundane weak life, one that struggles to get over every little hump.
Once we re-align ourselves with the joy of the Lord and allow His strength to fill our lives, we quickly realize that now we can live life at the Major League Baseball level, but play with the joy and excitement of a ten year old. When we latch onto that, then our families will like us better, our bosses will appreciate us more, and our community will be a better place. Now that sounds like fun.