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Silliness Is Just Fun

A small look back at what I've shared so far reveals the moment all this silliness began: It was after a game of nothing my son and I played. The game stuck in my mind for some reason, and so I asked the whole family, "What makes silliness important?" They gave their answers, going round the table quick-like, and I was stunned by the ease with which they replied. First answer: "It's a sign of joy." And it is. Second answer: "Because we are silly." We are. Silly. And important.

Then came the third: "It's just fun." So here we are.

I still use the Bible my youth group leader gave me in junior high. It's an NIV Study Bible with helpful notes and explanations. Sometimes I see the notes I wrote in the margins and cringe; other times I'm thankful to have a history of my errors, my growth, and God's faithfulness. As I thought about my son's answer -- It's just fun -- I remembered a small note I jotted down next to Psalm 104.26.

It reads: "Have fun!" (And I drew a smiley face, too.)

This led me to studying the verse a bit. I looked at the English Standard Version, and that made me want to see more interpretations of the same verse. Below, I've typed several different versions of Psalm 104.26, beginning with the first two I just mentioned:

NIV: "There the ships go to and fro, and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there."

ESV: "There go the ships, and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it." (There's a footnote on this version that reads, "Or: you formed to play with." I like that idea very much, the idea that God would make a creature to play with him.)

KJV: "There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein."

ICB (International Children's Bible -- which I didn't know existed until this week, but is apt, no?): "Ships travel over the ocean. And there is the sea monster Leviathan, which you made to play there." 

TLB: "And look! See the ships! And over there, the whale you made to play in the sea."

The Message: "Ships plow those waters, and Leviathan, your pet dragon, romps in them."

First, I have to admit I had fun looking all those up, reading the different versions, imagining the play -- the wild play. It reminds me of Where the Wild Things Are. The words -- they make me smile! Leviathan (both big L and little l), sea monster (in a children's Bible no less!), whale, dragon -- frolic, play, romps! The words alone are enough to answer for silliness, for fun.

You've never romped with a gaggle of children? Neither have you frolicked? Splashed at least? Why not? Our God has -- and does every day, evidently, with the largest of his creatures (by earthly standards, anyway).

But to what end? Why silliness? Why fun? I suppose it's like asking a small girl why she runs. To what end? Why all the running? Is there something we're getting to? She might answer, "I like to run." Or, "Because it's so nice outside," which is no answer for our tired legs. "Because I can." That one is the most striking of all, isn't it?

I run because I can run. The whale plays with the Spirit of God because it can play with the Spirit of God. Fun was made because God could make it -- and he makes and remakes it every time we enter into it. In fact, we participate in all the making, and that's just as wonderful a part of the fun as any other.

Must you keep on asking why? I know you are, because I am, and it makes me feel like the crusty old adult that I've become. Yes, we question fun. We question silliness. Well, when it comes down to it, we question God: "Why in the world did you create -- " then fill in the blank.

But look at that question again. Just for a moment, if you will. Now, don't fill in the blank. That's the question, isn't it? Why did he do all this? That's where the silliness -- the fun -- leads me. He made us to run, ride the waves, laugh at awkward noises, and he made us to do it together, and with him.

"I want to be silly with you." That's God speaking, to you and to me. That's just fun.
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