Another thread brought this issue to my mind. In America, we have this idea of the pursuit of happiness. Pleasure is important to many people not only in America but across the global. However, in Orthodoxy, one gets the feeling that the goal of this life is not to be happy or have pleasure, but to suffer and to have joy only in Christ. My question is, is there anything wrong with pursuing happiness and living an Orthodox life at the same time? Or are the two at odds with each other? Is it okay to have fun and enjoy oneself, or are we to be serious and uptight the whole time?
Orthodoxy and the concept of pleasure/fun
I think this is a very touchy subject for a lot of people. Fun can be defined in many ways by different people. For some people going to strip bars might be "fun," but this is obviously wrong. For others it might be hanging out with a bunch of friends, laughing, and socializing. There is nothing wrong with that. Christ's first miracle took place at a wedding, where he turned water into WINE, and everyone around Him was having fun. Did He say anything to condemn the fun? No, He made it possible by giving them more wine. Does this mean go out and get drunk? No, but it means have fun with your friends and relax. Now, there are times when we shouldn't have "fun" such as Holy Week, and Lent. But then again, that is between you and your spiritual father, and what distracts you from your spiritual pursuits. We are not all called to be monks and nuns and sit in our cells and have sad and somber expressions. It even tells us in the Bible that we shouldn't go around sad and mournful during times of fasting, but rather cheerful and happy. (I'm sorry, but I can't remember where that comes from, but I could find it if you like) I have seen many monks laugh at a joke, tell a joke, and play silly pranks. Are we to judge them because they are enjoying themselves? No. As Orthodox Christians we should go to church, read spiritual books, learn from our mistakes, go to confession, communion, etc. Use this as a basis to decide what is important in life and to be able to make a decision as to WHAT type of fun we want to (should) have, not IF we should have it. Being Orthodox doesn't mean living in a black & white world, rather it is learning how to navigate through the grey areas and discerning what is profitable and not profitable for our souls.
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Seraphim Reeves
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To play Devil's advocate here, what is wrong with doing things just for the sake of fun or just for the heck of it?
Of themselves, usually nothing. I think there is a danger, however, in living an overly haphazard, purposless life. By purposless, I do not mean necessarily "meaningless" or "bad." Simply that things are done without much volition - in my experience, not being thoughtful in all things can quickly lead to being led by passions, and in the end one is no longer really living as a human being at all (but simply as a clever animal.)
Seraphim
I'm going to tell you a true story.
There was this monk in a monastery who was a horrible monk. He never came to church. He never sang in the choir, never did his obediences, nothing. Rather, during the time that the other monks were in church, singing, praying, and doing their obediences, he drank. He was always drunk. The other monks were shocked. They were always commenting on how he never attended services, or did his work, or prayed, etc but was always horribly drunk. They just couldn't believe how much of a terrible monk he was. This went on every day, until his death. At his death, the other monks were thankful that he was dying. They didn't care to visit him or say goodbye, because obviously he wasn't going to go to heaven. He died, things went on as usual. Only the other monks didn't have the self-indulgent monk to worry about. One night, not too long later, the abbot of the monastery had a dream. An angel came to him and told him that the horrible monk was in heaven. And the abbot asked, how could this be possible? He was the worst monk here! And the angel said, yes he was drunk and never attended services, but he never once judged anyone while everyone around him was judging him. This is why he has entered the Kingdom of Heaven.
I don't think there can be a blanket statement about fun. No, this doesn't mean go and get drunk and skip church. What it does mean is that everything is different for everyone. What is fun to one person is mundane to another. What is a temptation to one person is something that another person doesn't think twice about. And if you see someone getting drunk, or having "too much fun," we cannot judge them. They may seem like the worst people on the earth, but we can never know their inner thoughts and struggles.
Topics like these should be between spiritual father and spiritual child. We, as lay people and uneducated Orthodox Christians, cannot say that one type of fun (monopoly) is worse than another (eating good food). However, our spiritual fathers who know us, can tell us what to avoid and when. Discussing this here will not lead us anywhere, and if we are truly concerned with this, we should consult our spiritual fathers, because they know our strengths and weaknesses better than we do and the others on this site do.
