Is it a sin to daydream or dream for better things?
The dictionary defines daydreaming as
"day-dream noun", A dreaming or imagining of pleasant events; the making of
unreal plans etc while awake.
I cannot imagine where this question could have originated, for it has taken me
by complete surprise, but then I have always believed that a honest question in
anyone's mind should at least have the most honest answer that it is possible to
give, so as the writers of old would say, I take pen in hand or, in this case
keyboard in lap.
I have never given thought to this, but now that the question is rolling around
in my head there does seem to be some validly to it.
The Bible teaches us that the renewing of our mind by the Holy Spirit of God
saves us.
Romans 12:2 "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and
perfect, will of God."
Ephesians 1:18 "The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may
know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his
inheritance in the saints."
Ephesians 4:23 "And be renewed in the spirit of your mind."
Col 3:10 "And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the
image of him that created him."
Acts 26:18 "To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and
from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and
inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me."
Now I have said all that to point to this question that begs to be asked, "what
are the day dreams about?"
I personally think that we all daydream to a certain degree, but the important
thing is the question above.
Many times I have found myself daydreaming about my ministry and dreaming of
winning great numbers of souls and building a mega church. Is that wrong, I
don't think it is, if I am dreaming of doing it for the glory of the Lord.
Let me share another few verses from the Word
Matthew 5:28 "But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust
after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."
If I were to daydream about my neighbors' wife or any woman other than my own
wife, then the answer is yes it is sin.
James 1:14-15 "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust,
and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when
it is finished, bringeth forth death."
If I were to daydream about gaining favor with the world then yes it is sin.
If I were to daydream about the riches of this life and those daydreams began to
consume my thoughts and turn my mind from god and the things of God then yes it
is sin.
1 John 2:16 "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust
of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."
James 4:1-2 "From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence,
even of your lusts that war in your members?Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and
desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war; yet ye have not, because ye
ask not."
If I were to daydream about anything of this life in this physical world and
those thoughts cause me to fail in my service to my Saviour, then yes it is sin.
I really wonder is it possible not to slip into a daydreaming state of mine at
certain times, for I find myself daydreaming quite often?
I also have found myself beginning to daydream about sinful things and I have to
stop them and ask for my Lord to forgive my lapse and strengthen my mind.
Listen to the Apostle Paul as he speaks about the war within
Romans 7:23 "But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my
mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members."
Romans 6:13
Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but
yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your
members as instruments of righteousness unto God. {instruments: Gr. Arms, or,
weapons}
Galatians 5:17 "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against
the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the
things that ye would."
The question, "Is it a sin to daydream or dream for better things?"
Surely our Christian brothers and sisters in third world countries must daydream
of a better life for their children and themselves, would you not agree to that?
There are many today that seem to think of Christian Life as a physical thing
and where there are physical problems to be dealt with spiritually, we must
remember that this life is a Spiritual Life.
"We are not human beings going through a temporary spiritual experience. We are
spiritual beings going through a temporary human experience." Author unknown
Now let me share some verses that encourage a certain type of daydreaming.
Joshua 1:8 "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou
shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according
to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and
then thou shalt have good success. {have...: or, do wisely}"
Psalms 1:1-2 "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
{ungodly: or, wicked} but his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law
doth he meditate day and night."
Meditate comes from a Hebrew word (hagah, daw-gaw') it means to imagine, to
study, it means musing.
Sounds kind of like daydream to me.
Psalms 1:3 "And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that
bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and
whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. {wither: Heb. Fade}"
Psalms 119:97-100 "O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day. Thou
through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever
with me. {they...: Heb. It is ever with me} I have more understanding than all
my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the
ancients, because I keep thy precepts."
Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever
things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be
any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. {honest: or,
venerable}"
Read this paragraph by my friend Chris Hansen.
"By all means daydream about truth, nobility, purity, loveliness, and admirable
and praiseworthy things. Good books, fine sermons, sweet fellowship, intense
times of prayer, a walk through beautiful natural settings-all of these can and
should foster daydreaming. Then, these daydreams will explode into a powerful
desire to see those dreams come to pass for God's glory." Chris Hansen
My answer is that one should look carefully at the why of one's daydreaming of
better things.
Perhaps in some cases it is not as much daydreaming as prayerful cry of the
heart for a better existence!
Then again perhaps some daydream of the wrong things.
Daydreaming about he things of God is never a sin, but dwelling on the things of
the world can certainly lead to sin.
I hope I have answered the question, but then does not each of us have to answer
to God for everything we do?
Matthew 6:20 "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth
nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal."
Colossians 2:3 "In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. {In
whom: or, Wherein}"
2 Timothy 4:1 "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ,
who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom."
2 Titimothy 4:8 "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me
only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."
I have shared this lengthy response to the question as I believe the Holy Spirit
has lead.
Now my friend we need to answer the question about our daydreaming.
James Avery
Associate Director of Bible Questions
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To dream or daydream which means to aspire, have a goal, possess a positive
ambition is the context of this article.
This is because, even if a dream is ‘said’ to be from God, except the elements
of discipline, imagination and planning are employed, it will not come to
fruition.
A dream is that which is conceived and pre-designed not primarily to harm anyone
but intended for the service of humanity and the glory of God.
The book of Hebrews 11 is essentially a gallery of dreamers. Verse 11 says “If
they had been thinking about the country they had left, they would have had
opportunity to return. But instead they were thinking about a better country, a
heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for He has
prepared a place for them.” First they had the dream, next the dream had them
and eventually they would not let go until the dream came to manifestation.
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Christ, The apostles etc were all
dreamers.
God is the greatest dreamer. In Genesis 1:26 when He said ”Let us make man in
our own image and after our likeness and let them rule over the fish of the sea,
the birds of the air and every living creature. Fill the earth and subdue it.”
NIV
KJV says “…and let them have dominion…” God was actually declaring a statement
of intention which had been preconceived and predetermined to be accomplished.
God had his dream while He was awake in the daytime after he created light.
He was not asleep in the night. So it can be firmly asserted within this premise
that God was and is a daydreamer!
Since mankind is made in God’s image, every human being has the boundless and
illimitable capacity to dream in furtherance and fulfillment of God’s purpose
for creation in Genesis 1:26 “…have dominion; fill the earth and subdue it...”
This God-given capacity to dream is independent of political views or social
inclinations. It transcends geography, race, gender, age and permeates every
facet of human endeavour: Science, engineering, medicine, military, economics,
sports, politics, etc. From Franklin Roosevelt to Napoleon Bonaparte, Alexander
the Great, Christopher Columbus, the Pilgrim Fathers, Winston Churchill, Joseph
Lenin, Nelson Mandela, Emmanuel Emeagwali, Micheal Jordan, John F.Kennedy, The
Wright Brothers, Michael Faraday, Thomas Eddison, Henry Ford, William
Wilberforce, Albert Einstein, John Milton, William Shakespeare, Isaac Newton,
John Bunyan, Japanese technocrats, Russian Cosmonauts, Paul, John Wesley, Edward
Deming, David Oyedepo, Bill Gates, Ghandi, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington,
etc.
These and many others are in the Humanity’s hall of fame.
Someone might contend that some of these men are not born again. But it must be
noted that God’s dream is for the service of humanity regardless of the
instrumentality; believers, unbelievers or even animals. Cyrus was a heathen yet
he sponsored the rebuilding of the temple, Nebuchadnezzar elevated Daniel in
Babylon, Elijah was fed by Ravens, The astrologers (Magi) were the first to
acknowledge baby Jesus, Baby Jesus took refuge in Egypt, Ruth was a pagan, a
gentile directed Joseph to his brothers, and the list goes on and on.
How many times have novel concepts, ideas of creativity and seeds of greatness
been borne in the hearts of believers and they stifle and stultify it on the
grounds that they are waiting for extraordinary divine endorsements in the form
of night dreams, visions, and prophecy or any such ‘’thus says The Lord” only to
discover a little later that someone else with a lesser conviction is
legitimately profiting from the same dream which was abandoned due to the
believers’ reluctance or “spirituality”.
The Christian Faith does not call for intellectual barrenness. All the human
faculties must be fully developed and deployed for the glory of God and service
of humanity. Hebrews 11:15 talks about thinking; Philippians 4:8 is the
framework of all dreams” Whatever is true… think about such things” This is a
‘carte blanche’, there is no limit to what you can think about as long as it
does not violate the other parameters outlined in Philippians 4:8. Abraham was
looking forward to a city whose architect and builder was God” He also
considered that God was able to do what he promised to do.” He also considered
that God was able to raise Isaac up from the dead.” Moses was looking forward to
his reward. Their minds were engaged in all this.
God is a daydreamer and as His creatures (and more so as His children) we have
the liberty to dream of that whose motive and means of actualization is not
destructive. And as we do so, we give God the means of expression to extend the
arms of His Love and care to humanity; Eph 3:20 "Now to Him Who, by (in
consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to
[carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we
[dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts,
hopes, or dreams]" AMP
Prince C. Oshiojum
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The act of daydreaming for better things in my opinion is not a sin. Take for
instance this passage from James 2: 15-18 (NIV)
"Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you
says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing
about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if
it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith;
I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by
what I do."
Our deeds are living proof of our love for Christ and the earnest desire to
fulfill his word and live in a way he would find pleasing. This connects to
daydreaming through the active process of our minds. Our minds (hopefully being
led by God's love) are capable of imagining a difference in the future. This
ability to imagine a difference is the cognitive forerunner to actions. If we
are supposed to show God's love through actions then we must first be able to
cognitively imagine a circumstance where a situation could be improved to bring
about the fruitfulness of his love in deed and not in words alone. So how could
daydreaming about a better future be a sin?
Moreover the thought of daydreaming about the wonders of heaven and the glory of
spending an eternity in the presence of our Creator will hopefully lead to a
heart of joy and praise for his wonder and majesty. If daydreaming about better
things simply initiates cognitive processes that uplift our spirit and bring us
in to a state where our hearts can sing out a joyful song to HIM then why would
that be a sin?
Now the caveat: as almost everything in this world if taken to excess,
daydreaming will not be beneficial to the Church (believers around us) or those
around us that are unsaved. So if one were to lay around all day daydreaming and
not put forth actions to better improve the world we live in then I believe the
sin there is not daydreaming itself, but rather taking focus from God's plan and
his word to escape into a world of our own. If we are escaping into our own
minds in excess and not in a manner that is helpful to those around us this is
the sin of inaction and laziness.
Paul Hirsch
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A visit to the book of Genesis will do so much good to us as we endeavor to
answer our challenging topic. The earth belongs to God and as such, it is
obvious that He had a mindset for those He entrusted with the responsibility to
handle the affairs of the world upon creation. A clear understanding of what the
Maker demands from His subjects will form the baseline of our response to this
beautiful discussion.
We are all descendants of Adam. We shall look at some of the obligations for him
when God placed him as a ruler over His creations that I believe binds us and
all his offspring until the second advent of Christ.
Genesis 1: 28 is the defining point of God's intention for man to rule, subdue
and maintain the earth in order to ensure continuity and thus bring all glory to
Him. Adam was to replenish the earth with children (v.28); to use nature for his
physical needs including food and shelter (v.28); to have dominion over animal
life (v.28); to eat fruit and vegetables (v.29); to labor for his sustenance
(2:15),etc. As children of Adam, we are not exempted from physical labor for
survival.
The word daydream has double implications that are positive and negative in its
nature (idle and pleasant thoughts). It is good to dream for better things-
pleasant thoughts. At least, it is another way of having an ambition for greater
goals attainment in life that is in fulfillment of the word subdue and replenish
as in verse 28 of the aforementioned Bible book. The only impediment here is the
word IDLE and it is actually the catalyst that reverses the whole idea to
negative effect.
The creation of the earth was not an afterthought in the mind of God but was at
one time a thought or idea in His mind in eternity past. He saw that it was a
brilliant idea and then He developed the plan, set in place, and scheduled a
period for it. The formation of one man from Jews and Gentiles through Christ
death on the cross ( Ephesians 3:9-10) to have fellowship with God as Christians
had been in the mind of God since eternity past. If He had not set the goal in
motion and remained in His mind all through the ages then both instances will
not be what it is today. It would have been daydreaming. Praise God it did not
have to be! We can borrow a leaf from this action.
Anyone who daydreams is simply in disobedience of God's commandment given to
Adam as we saw previously in Genesis. We have a lot to learn from the book of
Proverbs in the Bible (Prov.6:6-8; Prov.20:4 and Ecclesiastes 4:5) that man
whether a Christian or non-Christian must not be idle and lazy but work to
fulfill his positive dreams.
In the case of the believer, it is very compulsory because, he not only should
work to cater for himself and family but do so that when God leads the needy his
way for assistance (Ephesians 4:28), he will be ready and available for him so
that God will be glorified. And of course, this is applicable to his general act
of benevolence (Galatians 6:10) and duty to the church (Deuteronomy 16:16;
1Corinthians 16:1-2, etc) .
Finally, it is clear in the word of God that anyone who daydreams disobeys God's
commandment and thus sin against Him. However, the one who dreams for better
things and does not fold his hands but works to bring it to accomplishment will
receive help and grace from the Lord.
Lawrence Oshioreame
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Now it is not a sin to dream for better things, especially to the believers
of the word of God, as children of God we know that everything we need is
already in us. We know that we don't have to live the life of shame, poverty
etc. To daydream is part of faith. THESE ARE EVERLASTING PROMISES FROM GOD.
THESE WOULD COMFORT US WHEN WE LIVE IN THEM AND IN FAITH. For example, in his
saying "I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matt.28:20) so how
can we not daydream because he is the only one who has the key to go wherever we
want. There is a great kind of faith, faith that performs miracles. The Lord
spoke about "signs will follow those who believe" (Mark 16:17) and Saint James
the Apostle said "And the prayer of faith will save the sick" (James 5:15). So
we have to always look above so that faith enters our heart. We daydream because
we have confidence that God is a father and that he is the living one. He treats
his children with tenderness and gived them good gifts... God said in His
fatherly tenderness, that he engraved us on the palms of His hands (Is 49:16).
Even if a mother forgot her child, He wouldn't forget us (Is 49:15). In his
fatherhood He give us all that we need without asking.
Kindest Regards Ntombi Maqana.
