When I was in high school, a Christian parachurch ministry began renting school gyms in the evening and inviting church youth groups to come and play basketball and volleyball against each other. This encouraged inter-church interaction, these were events that the groups could easily invite other youth to, and frankly the evenings were a lot of fun.

At school one day, I mentioned that I had been at one of these events. Some of my non-Christian friends were astounded that church groups could actually gather for fun. I am not sure what they thought we did when we got together—beat each other with whips?

The reality is that my Christian friends seemed to have more fun than our non-Christian counterparts—who seemed to require alcohol or some other stimulant to make them happy. At university, I remember inviting a couple of non-Christians to a Christian Christmas party. They were astounded that Christians could just get together and be happy, content, without anything else to make them happy.

Consider these Bible verses:

• “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation…while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4,7 NIV).

• “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (Psalm 16:11)

• “Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him…Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy” (Psalm 33:1,3).

• “You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy” (Psalm 30:11).

• “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy…” (Galatians 5:22).

According to the Bible, God created the universe with joy and singing. In fact, God created singing, creativity, fun, and joy. And He wants to fill our hearts and our lives with joy.