Loving the Disney World

How I love - just love- the Disney theme parks! Be it Disneyland in Anaheim, any of the theme parks at Walt Disney World, or the great Disneyland Paris, my visits to each of them have been some of the happiest, most fun days in the my life and that of my children. What's not to love? Great attractions, decent food, and wonderful little shops to spend any remaining money you might have after the park ticket prices.

Even at their worst (California Adventure 1.0 or the Walt Disney Studios Paris, for example), there are still great aspects to be found.

Among my friends, I'm known as the Disney expert. Not a bad thing, but I was reminded by one friend:

"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world- the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does- comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires will pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."

This friend, Jesus, means more to me than anyone else- so I need to take His words seriously. When He says this in the book of I John 2:15-17, I need to pay attention because it is truth. The challenge is to obey and still understand its perfectly ok to enjoy things. But it's not alright to make them an idol- and that I struggle with. Do you?

(Photograph copyright Mark Taft.)