In the October 1979 issue of The Biblical Educator (vol. 1, no. 1), I had an essay entitled "Some Observations on Physical Education." The gist of that es­say was that the physical education programs in the Christian school should concentrate on the development of useful skills in the areas of work and self-de­fense. I came down rather hard on school sports, because of the tremendous over­emphasis on them in modern American schooling.

Upon further reflection, prompted by a reading of Johan Huizinga's classic Homo Ludens (Beacon Press paperback), I'd like to make a few more positive state­ments on play. (Huizinga's perspective is pagan; I do not recommend the book to anyone not thoroughly grounded in Van Tillian presuppositionalism).

Modern man, paradoxically finds it difficult either to get serious or to play. Apart from God, he can find no real meaning in life, and so he cannot really get serious. He cannot face the reality of death and judgment, so he avoids the really serious issues of life. On the other hand, apart from God, he can find no true joy. Play, which is natural to the child of God, becomes work for him, and he frantically seeks new and more exotic forms of play.

Perversely, modern pagan man be­comes most serious about his games. He cannot play at games at all. That is be­cause the pagan does not play for fun; he plays for glory and honor. Periodically people are injured by mobs at sporting events. In recent years, two nations in Central America put their armed forces on standby after a particularly intense soccer match; fortunately, war was averted. Fistfights break out in bars during football games and boxing matches. In­ternational politics is inextricably tied to the sport of the Olympics. Famous ath­letes command incredible salaries.

Glory and honor are peculiar things, or perhaps it would be better to say they are a peculiar thing. Glory is social in char­acter. People who have never even held a football share in the glory when their team wins. Glory is like clothing, and a person feels naked and embarrassed when his glory is removed. He feels shame, the opposite of glory.

When they lost their covering of glory in the Garden, Adam and Eve la­bored hard to recover themselves. (Note that word: recover.) When God exposed their nakedness, they turned to a form of violence, passing blame (abuse) to those around them. This is the lifestyle of all pagans. They labor hard to achieve glory and honor in the eyes of others. They be­come upset and even violent when their honor is shattered and their nakedness ex­posed. We cannot understand the place of sports in the modern world apart from this.

For the Christian, on the other hand, both play and seriousness arise from the sovereignty of God. God's sovereignty in Law means that all will be called to ac­count, so that in His presence is fear. But God's sovereignty in control means that we can relax and enjoy life; in His pres­ence is sabbath rest, joy, and play. These two things are put together expressly in Ecclesiastes 11:9, 10.

Moreover, Christians get their glory and honor from Christ; thus their engage­ment in play is never for the purpose of acquiring glory. Christians play for fun, not for blood. Because they are clothed in Christ's glory, Christians are free in both their work and their play. They both play more and are more serious than the pa­gans. One of the most noticeable things about a Christian community is the amount of playing, and horsing around that goes on; Non-Christians almost al­ways remark on this.

The Bible gives its philosophy of play in Proverbs 8:30, 31, which literally reads,

Then I was beside Him, a master workman; and I was daily His delight, playing always before Him, playing in the world, His earth, and having my delight in the sons of men.

This is Wisdom, the pre-incarnate Christ, speaking. Notice how work and play are placed together before the throne of God. The same word for play is used of Samson's sporting in Judges 16:25 and of David's dance before the Ark in 2 Samuel 6:21. It is used of the play of Leviathan in the sea in Psalm 104:26, and of the play of children in Zechariah 8:5. Thus, the play of Christians is an analog­ical replica of the play of the Son of God. It is sheer fun and delight in the creation.

Indeed, at the annual Feast of Taber­nacles, each family was directed to bring branches and build a shelter in which to live for seven days (Leviticus 23:40-43). Try doing that with your children without hav­ing fun! God intended His people to relax and play in His presence.

Play was removed from the church after the Christian Middle Ages came to an end. Because the Church of Rome was using art as propaganda, the Protestants came to fear art and play. The influence of stoicism and Neoplatonism worked fur­ther to destroy true play among the Prot­estant churches, though the Puritans were generally a joyous people. Luther's Table Talk is one of the last good exam­ples of down to earth Christian fun and play.

Just as the subject of art in general needs to be rethought in our day, so does the subject of play. Christian schools should not encourage play in an agonistic or competitive spirit, for glory and honor. On the other hand, intramural play for fun probably needs to be rehabilitated in our circles.