Balancing Temporary and Eternal Happiness

The fact that pleasure isn't the purpose of life, and joy is, doesn't mean we can't have both. Not all pleasures are evil. Not everything that adds to our temporary happiness detracts from our eternal happiness. A person can live righteously and still have fun.

Case in point, today has been and is continuing to be a busy day for me. I've done a lot of good and productive things, both for myself and for my family. I've done laundry, filled our yard waste bin with removed sod, made my bed, and swept upstairs. I also plan on doing some dishes and some grocery shopping (we're low on milk). Even though the day is only half-over, I've already done several hours of good, solid work.

This evening, however, I plan on wasting several hours playing card games, and in my opinion, that's okay.

My mom is fond of encouraging her children to "be good and productive." This is good advice, but while I believe it's important to always be good, I don't think it's necessary to always be productive. We may take time to play and rest. Mom is also fond of encouraging us to find balance, and that, I think, is also good advice. Fun is okay, but work is important, though neither entirely precludes the other. People can have fun while working or after they work, as I plan to do tonight. There is a lot of work to be done, but I believe that people can and should take some time to have fun or enjoy other pleasures as well.

Similarly, we can do everything that we need to do, spiritually, and still enjoy what time we have on Earth. God wants us to keep the commandments and fulfil our callings, but I think He also wants us to occasionally take some time to relax and have fun. He designed the Sabbath to be a day of rest, but if Sundays aren't restful enough to suit our needs, we may need to get our rest, and certainly our recreation, in on other days.

Many people often feel that there isn't time for rest and recreation or that having fun is a waste of time, but I believe that people need balance in their lives. If obtaining balance requires a shift in priorities, I think that's what needs to happen, even if that means that some things don't get done. Finding a proper balance between work, rest, and recreation is important to our spiritual health. Some people play too much and should work more. Some people work too much and should rest more. We all need to strive for balance.

I believe that such a balance can be achieved and that it'll reward us with an optimal amount of happiness. While some people try to maximize their happiness by having as much fun as possible before they die, and other people try to maximize their happiness by being as righteous as possible while neglecting to rest and have fun, I don't think that either method will give a person the greatest amount of happiness they could possibly have. We can maximize our eternal happiness and still have some temporary happiness as well. Finding or making time for wholesome rest and recreation will allow us to have a good deal of happiness now and still allow us to have a great deal of happiness later. God wants us to be happy, both now and in eternity, and I'm sure that if we play our cards right (pun intended), we can.