Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.
I confess that several times last month I did not play enough.
Wait, what?
At some time, you’ve probably confessed something like, I spent too much time watching TV, playing video games, binging Netflix, playing baseball, etc. We know people can sin by “playing” too much. But can we really sin by not “playing” enough?
Yes, says St. Thomas Aquinas (ST II-II q. 168, a. 4). Man ought to strive to live in accord with right reason. Certainly, it is reasonable to take rest and refreshment when necessary. In respect to the body, for example, it is reasonable to eat sufficient food and to sleep a sufficient amount each night. Eating or sleeping too much would be irrational and thus sinful, but so would eating or sleeping too little. Rather, the virtuous man gives his body its due rest so that it can function at its best.
The same holds true in respect to the soul. Just as when the body is tired it should be rested and refreshed by food and sleep, so too when the soul is tired it needs to be rested and refreshed. The soul is tired by intellectual efforts, such as study or contemplation of divine things. The soul is rested and refreshed by pleasure, and this is obtained by “play,” “games,” or “recreation.” Saint Thomas is unambiguous on this point, “Now such like words or deeds wherein nothing further is sought than the soul’s delight, are called playful or humorous. Hence it is necessary at times to make use of them, in order to give rest, as it were, to the soul” (ST II-II q. 168, a. 2).
Since we are inclined to that which gives us pleasure, it is much easier to sin by an overabundance of mirth/play than by a lack thereof. Man more often fails to reach authentic happiness by being lost in the pursuit of pleasure than by refraining from it. Yet, one would be foolish to think he can completely dispense of pleasure and still be a happy and holy man.
What then does reasonable rest for the soul look like? How can we be sure we are not going overboard/underboard? Three points will keep us on the reasonable road in respect to play (ST II-II q. 168, a. 2).
- We must ensure our recreation in no way includes anything evil in itself. If we sin by deed or word in the course of recreation, the recreation itself will be sinful and will give the soul no real rest.
- We must not completely disrupt the balance of our minds by our recreation. Recreation should truly be a re-creation: a recollection, not a dissipation, of the soul’s strength. Thus, we should avoid recreation that leaves us more tired and spent than we were beforehand. It makes no sense to stay up late into the night partying or playing games in the name of refreshing the soul only to be exhausted in body and soul the next morning.
- We should recreate according to our person and circumstances. As with sleep, some need more recreation, and some need less. Moreover, some find relaxation of the soul in certain things that others would find burdensome. Some recreations are fitting for children, and there are others befitting the old. Each should know himself and seek the measure and form of recreation proper to himself. Further, particular kinds of recreation are appropriate at particular times and places, but not in others. We must attend to all the circumstances to determine how to recreate reasonably.
If we attend to these things, we will be able to give due rest to our souls, according to reason. This may seem a small matter, but its import is great. Only the well-rested soul is able to labor well at its intellectual tasks, the greatest of which is the contemplation of God—for which man was made and in which his highest happiness is found. Thus, the saintly soul is one who knows the right time for contemplating God and also the right time for duking it out on the chess board.
✠
Image: FORTEPAN / Jezsuita Levéltár (CC BY-SA 3.0)
