When we look at the regular work week, which has gone from six days to five and a half days to five days and in some instances to four days, we may conclude that the quoted author is right in his observation that we have much more leisure time than our forefathers. This is not always a blessing. On the con­trary...

Leisure time … does it fall within the personal sphere, or is there also a communal aspect to it? We believe that we are not only responsible to the Lord with regard to how we use our leisure time, but also to each other, our fellow believers. When we make choices about what we should do and how we should do it, we do this as members of the com­munity in which we live. What we do in­fluences and affects others. There may be things which we could do with a good conscience but which we have to forego because of our fellow believer(s). We must never be a cause for offence.

What is leisure time? It can be de­scribed as non-work, freedom from busi­ness, ease. But it is much more. It is a point of contact with reality and a cata­lyst for new experiences, new ideas, new people, and new places.¹ Never has there been so much available to us in our lei­sure time as there is today. The choices are overwhelming. And yet one can hear the words, "I'm bored. There's nothing to do." Such an attitude often drives people to undesirable and wrong forms of filling, or perhaps even killing, time.

One does not have to be busy, or appear busy, all the time, actively doing things. There should also be time for relaxing, for stretching out, for laying back and doing nothing. There are times when there is a need for this; it can act as balm for a weary soul.

Pieter Jongeling states that we must approach leisure time with a purpose in mind, that we should look for beauty, not for entertainment and stimulation.² How far have we, too, strayed from that path! So much of what we do in our free time can be characterized as looking for entertainment and stimulation and in­stant gratification.

The leisure time of a Christian should carry the same banner as his everyday life, when he fulfils his cultur­al mandate. It should have the purpose: to the end that man may serve his God. Ultimately the use of this free time, which is not really free but comes under the Lordship of Christ, cannot be spent in a self-serving and man-directed way; it has to serve that ultimate purpose mentioned earlier. Therefore its style has to be a life-style; it must differ from the style of the world which is characterized as post-Christian, post-humanist; it is a neo-pagan world where nihilism, anar­chy, and mysticism rule.³ It must con­form to the style of the new, recreated earth.

Many possibilities are open to us to­day in the field of leisure. There are op­portunities to pursue hobbies, such as photography, gardening, all kinds of sports activities, reading — the list is unlimited. Many things which were only available to the rich are now within reach of nearly everyone.

Because there are so many possibil­ities, and because men are so dissimilar in likes and dislikes, clashes occur. What one allows, another does not. God has not given specific laws for leisure time, but the possibilities which we utilize must fall within the framework of the Law of God, which also has authority over the use of our leisure time. There are Biblical norms which must be taken into account; there is no neutrality here either.

This very important part of life is approached in different ways. Some say, "Seize the day. Take and enjoy. Do not be so afraid, so timid. It is all part of God's creation." Such an indiscriminate approach has to be rejected on firm Scriptural grounds. Does not the Bible teach us to discern and to test the spirits?

Another approach which some take is: "Touch not, taste not, abstain." This is the Anabaptist way of fleeing from the world, and in the process beautiful parts of God's creation are rejected. That cannot be our attitude either.

A third way is to use discernment, to look into this part of life, to weigh things according to Scripture, and not to reject something out off-hand because we do not like it or do not understand it. This is the most difficult approach, be­cause it takes time and study, as well as consultation with each other. But it is the only way in which we can help each other to live fully in this life, keeping in mind that we do not have a lasting city here. It is a more fruitful way of dealing with so-called controversial subjects, es­pecially when we are trying to give guid­ance to the youth.

We will mention a few of these sub­jects: modern music. Who is right, Bob Larson who wrote Rock and Roll — The Devil's Diversion and who rains fire and brimstone down upon those who listen to any kind of modern music, or J. Brent Bill who in his book Rock and Roll is much more moderate in his views. This area needs much more study and discus­sion, since a great deal of our young people's leisure time is taken up by listen­ing to music, very often without any dis­cernment. Why? Because they have heard a lot of disapproval of their music, but not much discussion. Let those who have that Christian discernment look into this, and discuss this so that we will be able to guide the youth.

Much the same could be said about the results of the technology that is gen­erated by the chip. This tiny piece of sili­cone has given rise to a mighty industry of computers, hardware, software ... It is even changing the language. One of the offspring of this technological mar­vel is the video machine. As soon as the word video is mentioned we see visions of the dark, mysterious, noisy video ar­cades where the young people spend their quarters or half dollars to the tune of two to five billion dollars annually. Read how one author describes a video arcade:

It's dark inside the arcades and video games centers, womblike, comforting, exciting. Lights flash and flicker seduc­tively in many colors from strange and alluring sources. Sounds of battle beckon the players to death-defying heroism, courageous exploits hardly possible in the ordinary worlds of home and school, and hours and hours of fun! Enter ... If you dare! People of all ages stand around you. They frantically manipulate joysticks, laser "Fire!" buttons, and energy shield projector buttons. Their eyes are riveted on large, flashing, fascinating screens, screens that project alien landscapes, strange mazes, and sit­uations that would make professional race drivers scream in frustration. The players are locked in combat against foes on whom they can vent anger and frus­tration … or they are merely spending time with what they will tell you is a "friend." ⁴

There are many reasons why Christians should shun these arcades; one of them is the atmosphere, another is the squan­dering of money. But does that, then, condemn the whole field of video games? Must we totally abstain from using this new technology? Do these games inevit­ably lead to addiction? Or can these games in one form or another be used in an educational way? As with all things in creation, they can be used in a wrong way, but also in a right way.

This brings us to the field of home computers, because here we encounter video games, too, although in another setting, because these games are played at home. Most home computers serve a dual purpose: they can be used for serious computer applications, such as programming, word processing, and they can be used to play video games.

There is a great variety of video games; they are not all of the spaceship variety. There are adventure games, for instance, which can take weeks to solve and in which the whole family can be in­volved. There are also many education­al modules available for these machines. So there is an alternative to the video ar­cade, while using the same technology. As with many other things in life, they should not become an obsession. Man should control the machine, not the other way around.

There is one important aspect of lei­sure time use which we cannot pass by, and that is television viewing. One author, Tim Hansel, has this to say about television:

One of the biggest ruts for many is tele­vision — holding millions of people in our country prisoner each year. It has put more chains on more life-styles than we could ever imagine. Few have enough willpower to turn it off. Fewer have the courage not to own one. And fewer still have such an overwhelming desire to live without that they would give their set away.⁵

We do not have to say much more about television viewing when we take into ac­count what was said in the beginning of this article about the life-style of a Chris­tian. We do not condemn the machine, only the use that is made of it by the owner.

What we should learn again is con­tentment. Isaac Bickerstaff said: "If I am content with little, enough is as good as a feast." The apostle Paul had to learn to be content too. When we are content we can take pleasure in all the things in life which we take for granted. When we rush from one place to another, looking for stimulation, for excitement, we can­not be content. We fail to see all the beautiful things God has created even though they are all around us, even with­in the grasp of our hands. Walter de la Mere describes this so beautifully in his poem "The Scribe"...

the smooth plumed bird,
the speck of sand,
which an ant stirs,
and hastens on.

Time, also leisure time, is a gift of God. Treat it that way, use it that way. Then many problems will disappear, and our life-style will be changed into the true life-style.