We spend much of our time, energy and other resources on play, leisure and recreation, and yet rarely reflect Christianly on such things.

Arthur Holmes has some insightful thoughts on the subject of play:-

Difficulty of Defining Play

‘Play is customarily seen as nonproductive activity. This is not strictly correct, for play can be economically productive for professionals, quiz-show participants, and many others. The intent of the definition is that the purpose of play is not to be found in elements extrinsic to the activity, as supposedly with work, but is to be found in the activity itself and its enjoyment. Yet even this is unsatisfactory, since it presupposes that the purpose of work is its extrinsic rewards, while a Christian view of work also stresses work’s instrinsic dignity and values. Similarly, if we define play as free and voluntary activity in contrast to the necessity of required work, then we fail to consider those who play for a living…To set work and play in antithesis, as has traditionally been done, does not help. Some people work harder at play than at work, while others of us have a ball at work.’

Playing with Words

‘Playing with words can help us make the point. We play with words and play on words. We play with ideas, play music, play ball, play back, and play the fool. We have play-boys, play-bills, play-schools, and play-suits. We play-act, play down, play up, play off, and role-play, until we are quite played out, or else out-played by others. Two kinds of play emerge in this list. The first includes games, sport, and athletics…The second includes art, imagination, and fantasy…in which play becomes an aesthetic activity.’

Dimensions of Play

‘Play…takes at least three cultural directions: the first includes games, sport, and athletics (notice the increasing organisation in that trilogy); the second includes art, drama, fantasy (notice here the increasing creativeness and play of imagination); the third includes festivity, ritual, and celebration (notice how they all replay the past, but with increasing structure)…We play both for present enjoyment (games), and in creating new worlds of experience (art), and in reliving the past (celebration).’

Importance of Play

‘Some see play as essential to human nature, even our defining characteristic: a person is “homo ludens,” and human kinds of lay distinguish her from other animals. Leisure, says Joseph Pieper, is the basis of culture; and sociologist Sebastian DeGracia documents it at great length. Piaget finds play essential to the cognitive development of children. Harvey Cox claims that essential to retaining our humanity is the festivity that links us to our past, and the fantasy that links us to possible futures.’

The loss of Playful Play

Work today has lost many traditional characteristics; so has play. Play has increasingly been transformed into organised sports, and sports, in turn, increasingly resemble work in the hard practice and preparation, in the intense involvement of coaches and athletes (in the spirit of work), and in actual economic productivity.

In a final paradox, only those sports which began as work – that is, hunting and fishing – are now dominated by the spirit of play. (Charles Page)

‘The lack of playful play is evident today in the Vince Lombardi slogan, “winning isn’t the main thing, it’s the only thing”…Institutionalised play is no longer festive and free, but has become big business. Play for its own sake seems to have lost meaning, as if, in the words of Bernard Shaw, “hell is an endless holiday: nothing to do, and plenty of money to spend on doing it.”‘

The Playfulness of God

‘Play cannot be forced, but in order to be truly playful it must be voluntary and with a free spirit. These very characteristics mark the activity of God. Before creation the eternal Trinity was, from the “homo faber” standpoint, strangely unproductive: the divine being enjoyed leisure for eternal conversation, with endless time to imagine possible worlds that might be created.’

Play is an Attitude of Mind

‘I say that play is first an attitude of mind, and only secondly is it various kinds of activity. It is a free spirit, celebrative and imaginitive because of the possibilities God has for us in this world. It is an attitude that carries over into all of life, finding joyful expression in whatever we do, productive or not.’

The Christian Can Afford To Play

‘Scripture begins with life in a garden and ends with a city at play; art and celebration and fun and game, and a playful spirit – is part of our calling, part of the creation mandate. It is not the play of self-indulgence, not of shed responsibility, but of gladness and celebration in responsible relationship to God. Play requires a free spirit rather than “free time,” a spirit freed from thinking and acting as if life itself depends altogether on me. The Christian can afford to play.’

Value of Play

‘It is customary to talk of the psychological, physical, and recreational values of play…But it also has aesthetic and intellectual potential, and leisure incubates ideas in art and science and society. Play can socialise us. It can discipline. It can develop precision and grace with aesthetic delight. It can produce transferable qualities of cooperation, persistence and self-denial. But it can also produce sadistic, self-indulgent, selfexalting, self-abusive, even masochistic people utterly drained of other interests…No kind of play by itself can build character…But it can provide an arena of possibilities, both good and bad, for personal development.’

Contours of a World View, 224-233