All work and no play make Jack something something

On Sunday Pastor Rich defined play as “work unrelated to want”. In this case want means the things we actually need (food, shelter, money, etc.) Often our play is a lot of work, whether it’s “playing” out in the yard (i.e. planting, laying bricks, painting which my wife has been doing since it got warm), or even a video game, which takes time and skill to master (and a lot of failure).

In this sense Pastor Rich is defining “work” more in the sense that physics defines it (exerting force upon a mass). Work doesn’t take on an emotional component in this evaluation. After all play serves many purposes, experimentation, enjoyment, restoration. Defining work as play seems a little counter to the way we think about it. “Work” in the way we think about it, is something we do because we have to, it’s a means to an end to provide…