关于娱乐与消遣的指引Directions for Amusements and Recreations

Directions for Amusements and Recreations

Richard Baxter, 1673

If you wish to avoid the sin and danger of unbiblical
amusements masquerading as acceptable recreations — you must understand
what acceptable or lawful recreation is, and its legitimate purpose. No
wonder Christians sin, if they do not know what is right!

Without doubt, some amusement and recreation is lawful, indeed,
necessary to some people. Lawful recreation
is the enjoyment of some natural thing, or participation in some
activity which is not forbidden, for the stimulation of the natural
spirits. It may be for the use of the mind, or the exercise of the body.
It is some pleasurable activity or exercise, ultimately intended to fit
the body and mind for their normal duty to God.

Amusement, sport and recreation are special terms. We
do not call arduous labor by such terms, though it may be better for us and more
necessary. Nor do we call every enjoyment by
these terms, for eating and drinking may be pleasurable, and holy things
and duties may be delightful, yet they are never termed sports or
recreations. It is the imaginative faculty that is chiefly
delighted by amusements.

TESTS FOR BIBLICAL LAWFULNESS. All of the following
factors are necessary to render an amusement, sport or recreation
lawful, and the lack of any one of them will prove it to be unlawful.

1. The genuine purpose
or intention behind your indulging in it, must be to
fit you for your service to God. It must help you to function better
either in your work, or in His worship, or for some work of obedience in
which you may please and glorify Him. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "Whether
therefore you eat, or drink, or whatever you do — do all to the glory of
God."

A lawful recreation must be a means fitly chosen and
used to this end. If it has no ability to improve us for God's service
in our ordinary callings and duty — then it cannot be to us a lawful
recreation (though it may be lawful to another person to whom it is a
real help).

2. All
recreations are unlawful, which are for their own sakes preferred before
our callings.

3. All
recreations are unlawful, which are used only to delight a carnal
imagination, and have no higher end than to please the sickly mind that
loves them.

4. All
recreations are unlawful, which hinder and spoil our fittedness for the
duties of our callings, and for the service of God; or, which, putting
the benefit and hurt together, hinder us as much or more than
they help us.

5. All
recreations are unlawful, which take up any part of the time which we should spend in greater works.

6. All
recreations that take up more time than is reasonable for a recreation,
are equally unlawful.

7. If an activity
is profane, such as making sport of holy things, it is a mocking of God.
It is wickedness demanding God's heaviest punishment, and cannot be
lawful.

8. All
recreations which wrong other people are unlawful. (This includes the
activities of stage players and comedians who ridicule others to their
injury.)

9. It is also
sinful to make fun of the sinful ways of others, or to act them
ourselves, which is common with comedians and other profane wits.

10. Immoral,
obscene stage plays and recreations are unlawful, in which filthiness is
represented without due expression of its odiousness, or with obscene
words or actions. To Christians, Ephesians 5:3-4 applies: "But among you
there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of
impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people.
Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are
out of place."

11. Those
amusements are unlawful, which involve the multiplying of worthless
words, engaging the participants in foolish, needless, unprofitable
chattering.

12. Those
amusements are sinful, which tend to excite lust in ourselves or others,
swearing, cursing and railing, and fighting and squabbling.

13. Those
amusements and recreations are sinful, which involve covetousness, to
win money from others; or that tend to stir up covetousness in those you
play with.

14. Cruel
recreations also are unlawful: such as taking pleasure in watching
duellers, fighters, or any that abuse each other; or any animals that
are made to needlessly torment each other.

15. A recreation
is unlawful if it is too costly, for we are God's stewards, and must be
accountable to Him for all we have. It is sinful to spend needlessly on
amusement.

16. Lastly, if
you have the choice of various recreations before you, you must choose
the fittest. If you choose one that is less fit and profitable, when a
fitter might be chosen, it is sin; even though that which you chose
would have been lawful, if you had no other.

By all this it is easy, for example, to judge the
lawfulness of our common stage plays.

What is a fit recreation? It is either the body or
the mind that needs recreation most. Either you are sedentary people, or
those who work physically. If the former, then it is the body that has
most need of exercise and recreation. In this case, to sit at sedentary
amusements or recreations, instead of exercising your bodies, is to
increase the need of exercising them. It does you much more harm than
good.

If, however, you are hard laborers, and need rest for
your bodies and recreation for your minds, or are sick, so that you
cannot use bodily exercise — then surely a hundred profitable
'exercises' are at hand which are more suitable to your case. You have
books to read (including the Word of God) which can increase your
knowledge in history, geography, and arts and sciences.

Here are some questions to ask yourself from
time to time about your recreations:

1. Do you think
that either Christ or His apostles used stage plays or similar
entertainments and amusements, or ever sanctioned or encouraged
addiction to them?

2. Does not your
conscience tell you when your delight is more in your amusements than it
is in God? Such recreations (those we love more than the things of God)
in no way increase our delight in God, but take it away.

Do you not feel what a plague certain pleasures are
to your affections — how they bewitch, befool you, and take you out of
love with holiness, and make you unfit for anything that is good?

3. Do you bestow
as much time in praying and reading the Word of God and meditating on
it, as you do in your sports and recreations? Do you not know the value
of those precious hours which you play away?

4. Would you be
found at stage plays or vain amusements when death comes? Would you not
rather be found at some holy or profitable labor?

5. Will it be any
comfort to you when you are dying, to think of the time which you spent
in plays and vanities?

6. Dare you pray
to God to bless your sports and amusements to the good of your soul or
body? Would not your conscience tell you that this would mock God?

7. If you are
sure that you sin not in your games or sports, either by excess or
addiction or neglect of spiritual duties, are you sure that your
companions do not? If you say, "We are not bound to keep all other men
from sin," I answer: You are bound to do your best towards it; and you
are bound not to contribute willingly to their sin. If Paul would never
eat meat while he lived rather than make a weak person offend, should
not your sports be subject to as great charity?

If you know what sin is, and what it is to save or
lose one's soul, you will not aid and abet other men's sin, nor so
easily contribute to their plight. In such cases, "we then that are
strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak [that is, to help them,
as we do children in their weakness], and not to please ourselves [to
their hurt]. Let every one of us please his neighbor for his good to
edification [that is, prefer the edifying of another's soul, before our
own pleasure]. For even Christ pleased not himself." If Christ lost His
life to save men from sin, will not you lose your amusements
for it?

8. What kind of
people are they that are most addicted to games and plays, and what kind
of people are they that avoid them, and are against them? With whom are
these activities most identified? Judge wisely!

Here are some helpful counsels about choosing a recreation:

1. When you understand the true
nature and purpose of lawful recreation, try to determine just how much
and what sort of recreation is needful to you in particular. In this you
must have respect, (a) to your bodily strength; (b) to your mind; (c) to
your type of work. And when you haw determined what and how much is
needful and appropriate to help you in your duty, allow it its proper
time and place, as you do your meals, and see that you do not allow it
to encroach upon your duty and service.

2. Try normally to join profit
and pleasure together, that you lose no time. It is a sin to idle away
any time which we can turn to better account.

3. Watch against inordinate,
sensual delight, even in the most lawful activity. Excess of pleasure in
any such 'small' or lesser activity of life is very corrupting to the
mind. It puts it out of relish with spiritual things; and turns it from
God, and Heaven, and duty. To this end keep a watch upon your thoughts
and desires, that they run not after sports and pleasures. Else you will
be like children that are thinking of their sport, and longing to be at
it — when they should be at their books or business.

4. Avoid the company of revelers,
lovers of pleasure, and similar time-wasters. Come not among them, lest
you be ensnared. Usually, amusements rate as foolishness to serious men;
and they say of this mirth, as Solomon, 'it is mad' (Ecclesiastes 2:2).
It is great and serious subjects which make serious men.

5. Be zealous and apply yourself
to your calling and spiritual service. Laziness breeds a love of
amusement. When you must please your flesh with ease — then it must
be further pleased with vanities.

6. The sickly and the melancholy
(who are usually least inclined to sport) have much more need of
recreation than others, and therefore may allow it more time than those
in health and strength.

7. Be much more severe in
regulating yourselves in your recreations, than in censuring others for
using some sports which you dislike. For you know not perhaps their
case, and reasons, and temptations. An idle, time-wasting, sensual
pleasure-seeker — everyone should look on with pity as a miserable
wretch.

If you are sedentary, walking or some honest, bodily exertion
that joins pleasure and profit, is a fit kind of exercise for you. If
you are a laboring person, and need only pleasure for your mind,
you can take pleasure in Scripture, in holy conference, or in good
books. We have flowers and trees and beasts and birds and other
creatures to behold. We have fields or gardens or meadows or woods to
walk in. We have our near relations to delight in; our wives or
children, and our friends. We may talk with godly, and wise, and
cheerful people, about things that are both pleasing and edifying to us.

God has given us a world of lawful pleasures. But stage-plays are, at
best, very questionable, and most are to be condemned as unlawful.
Should one who fears God and loves his salvation — choose so doubtful a
recreation in preference to so many undoubtedly lawful ones? And you
must know what a time-wasting sin excessive leisure is. Suppose
the activity is lawful — is it lawful to give so many hours to
it, as if you had neither souls, nor families, nor other
responsibilities or service to perform?

For myself, when my mind needs recreation — I have a variety
of relaxing and invigorating books, and friends, and business to do
that. And when my body needs it — the hardest labor that I can
bear is my best recreation. Walking serves instead of games and sports
as profitable to the body, and more to my mind. If I am alone, I may
improve the time in meditation. If I am with others, I may improve it in
profitable, cheerful conference.

I do not condemn all sports or games in others, but I find none of
them all to be best for myself; and when I observe how far the temper
and life of Christ and his best servants were from such recreations — I
avoid them with the more suspicion. And besides, I note that most
people, by instinct, view ministers with distaste when they see them
pursuing frivolous recreations.