We all like to have fun. For some, fun is going to a park. For others, fun is working hard. For others fun is going somewhere new. For others fun is accomplishing something great. For others it’s exercise. For others fun is a product of being with the right people. But what I call “real” fun is so much more than all of that.
In a world so focused on experiencing pleasure at any cost, an ironic thing is happening. More and more people are becoming depressed. More and more people are losing hope and unable to cope with daily life. More and more people are becoming disconnected even as the tools that we have to connect with people have become more sophisticated. The more we pursue fun and pleasure, the further away it moves. The more access we have to connect with people, the further relationally we move from them. The more information that is out there at our fingertips, the more ignorant we become. It seems to be a cruel irony.
Flip Things Around
And yet the flip side is also true. Life was never meant to be lived for just ourselves, just for our own pleasure. The proof of that is found in the lives of people who consider themselves to be truly happy. Happiness is not the product of consuming pleasure, status, experience, fame or wealth. Happiness is a product of a well-balanced life that has outward purpose and direction, not an inward one.
When we flip things around, and instead of living as a consumption magnet — seeking to consume the most amount of pleasure we can — and we become a spark that ignites potential in other people, we head down a path that brings true, real fun to life. It is a major mental shift. Instead of living for what we can get out of life and others, we can live for how we can bring to life and purpose to others. Jesus knew this, and declared “It is more blessed to give than receive.” It is in giving to others, in serving others, that we find our true purpose in life — the very reason (and there is a reason) that we’re here on earth. We’ve got to flip things around and start living for others if we’re going to discover why we’re here. And that discovery is fun in its truest form.