I used to coach soccer, and when I was coaching, one of my favorite expressions was "well played." Well played meant that my player had not only done a good job but that his play had some kind of elegance or beauty to it, as much as a sixteen-year-old male is capable of elegance.
The other night Karen and I were at an Eagles' hockey game. In front of us was a mom, dad, and two elementary-school-age girls. The younger of the two couldn't wait for the whistle to blow so that she could get up and dance to the music blasting through the speakers in the arena. During one break she coaxed her dad to stand and join her sister and her in a rowdy, cowboy-inspired dance. He reluctantly began to dance with his girls, to their absolute delight. When they finished, I leaned forward and said to him, "Well played, dad."
Noted author Leonard Sweet has picked up the phrase in his book, The Well-Played Life. Sweet has authored over 50 books and 200 articles, and has been called "One of the 50 most influential Christians in America."
Christians have completely misunderstood how God has called us to live, he says. We have become obsessed with working for God, as though Jesus had said "Come to me all you who labor and are weary and I will give you more work!" He asks "Why are we trying so hard at working so hard when we were created to play and enjoy our relationships with God, each other, and creation?
Sweet says, "The Protestant work ethic has not made us better disciples, only weary and cranky human beings strutting in vain to snag the unattainable..." and he suggests that what we need is to work harder for God, but to rediscover how to play with God. Living a well-played life, says Sweet, "means experiencing the fullness of joy that comes from being in deep with the divine, cleaving close to the covenant, living in sync with the Spirit, and yoked to Christ to the point of surrendered trust in God's providences and promises." ...If faith isn't fun, we're working for God, rather than playing with God.
Play involves creativity, in fact play is "the oxygen for the imagination." You don't work a piano. You play a piano. Godplay, as Sweet calls it, reframes how we understand our relationship with God and our dependence on him. He says "Playing with God is the ultimate act of faith in God's promises and hope in God's providences to bring about a dynamic present and an even better future."
I have been fortunate to be awarded a Lilly grant for my upcoming sabbatical. The question Lilly asks is an amazing one--"What will make your heart sing?"--and I guess they liked my answer. One of the blessings of this adventure is that I will spend a couple of days in the San Juan Islands of Washington state, and have the opportunity to visit with Len Sweet at his cottage. It strikes me that Lilly's question and Sweet's "Godplay" have a great deal in common. Lilly asks pastors to rest and rejuvenate during their sabbaticals by doing things that will make their "hearts sing." Planning a month of study at your alma mater probably won't get much excitement from the "Approval Team," but fishing in the Galapagos just might, and in my case motorcycling through the Alps met with their endorsement. "Rejuvenate" means to make young or new again, and Sweet says the promise of the gospel is that "in our walk through life we can keep growing new."
Can you imagine what your life would be like, playing in God's garden? Running on God's pitch? Dancing to God's music?
If you can, then you are imagining your life well-played.
Well played!
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