The Life-Giving Joy of a Hobby
August 22nd, 2022 • by Matt Lantz
When I was a kid, my grandfather taught me how to use a camera. I enjoyed it enough to even take a photography class in college, but once I graduated and started my first ‘real’ job, I no longer had time for it. But, one evening in the middle of the 2020 lockdown, I decided to get my camera out and go out and take pictures of the sunset—just to have a reason to get out of the house.
It was a beautiful sunset that evening, and I enjoyed not only taking in the beauty, but also re-learning how to take a decent photograph of it.
A few days later I heard there would be a visible comet in the evening sky (do you remember hearing about Comet Neowise?), so I went out and tried to see if I could get a picture of it. It was a fun challenge, and I ended up with a photo I was really proud of.
And that was it. I had found something I had forgotten I enjoyed, and it helped me make it through the worst of the pandemic.
Life soon started getting back to normal, but I found myself reluctant to give up my periodic photography outings. So, ever since, I’ve been protecting time in my busier and busier schedule to carry my camera with me, to stop and enjoy beauty when I see it, and to embrace the challenge of becoming a better photographer each time I go out.
I’ve even launched an Instagram account and met people I never would have met had I not revived my hobby. My kids often join me now, bringing along their own cameras, and enjoy teaching them the same things my grandfather taught me. It has been the most unexpected joy of the past few years.
“Hobbies give us an opportunity to find satisfaction and enjoyment in something other than work, a paycheck, or recognition.”
Why You Should Have a Hobby
I think you should have a hobby too. And I know you think you’re too busy; I get it. But if you’ve read this far, perhaps you’ll be willing to consider these four reasons why I think you should not only have a hobby, but also protect time for it on a regular basis:
1. Hobbies are a great way to actively resist workaholism
Most of us don’t know what to do when work is done for the day. Once we are done at the office or once the kids are in bed, most of us usually end up watching a show or scrolling through our phones—or both. And that’s as good as it gets.
Consider taking inventory of what you do when you aren’t working. If all you know to do is turn to food and passive entertainment at the end of your average day, then there’s a good chance that too much of your life (and your identity) revolves around your work.
This is true just as much for stay-at-home moms as it is for office-working dads. You can be a workaholic even if you don’t get paid for it.
None of us want to live one-dimensional lives, but that’s what most of us end up doing. Hobbies give us an opportunity to find satisfaction and enjoyment in something other than work, a paycheck, or recognition. They help us break free of the stress of the day while remaining active. Hobbies offer us a chance to engage another part of our hearts and minds instead of escaping to our phones, food, or Netflix. They keep us from becoming robotic, numb, and bored with our everyday lives.
2. Hobbies prevent stagnation
Healthy things grow, and growth requires time. But, if we work ourselves to exhaustion each day, we leave no margin for growth in our lives. And if we have no margin for growth, we stagnate.
When we protect time in our schedules for a hobby, we make space for ourselves to learn and grow. I have gained just as much satisfaction in learning new photography techniques as I have in going out and taking photographs. I enjoy it, so I’m motivated to protect time for it. I’m motivated to research and learn more about how I can improve. I’m motivated to keep it as a hobby because the science and the art of photography challenges me.
I believe my mental health stayed in a relatively healthy place over the past two years due in large part to having a hobby that gave me an outlet to grow.
3. Hobbies provide an opportunity to develop and deepen relationships
It’s really hard to make friends as an adult. Friendships take time. And if our lives are dominated by our work and our children, who has time to make new friends?
If you are protecting time for a hobby, it gives you a great way of developing a new relationship or deepening an existing one. If you meet someone at church and find out you both enjoy painting, not only does that give you something to talk about, but it also gives you an opportunity to do your hobbies together.
One of the most unexpected joys of sticking with photography has been the opportunity it has given me to spend time with my children. When I invite them along with me, they not only get to learn about photography from their Dad, but we also get to spend an hour or so outside—experiencing the beauty of God’s creation together—with no time pressure looming over our heads. We can take in a sunset together, have a nice chat, and take some nice photographs all in an hour one evening. As a Dad, I love that my kids will one day be able to say they learned a skill from me that was also something that allowed us to spend quality time together.
4. Hobbies give us the chance to be a blessing to others
When we have a hobby that we love and enjoy, we aren’t in it for the money. If we are, then it’s not a hobby; it’s a side-hustle. When our ambitions aren’t revolving around advancing our career or increasing our net worth, then we don’t get to just enjoy our hobby; we can be generous with it too.
If one of your hobbies is baking, for example; protect time to do it with your daughter and then take the loaves of bread that you made together to a neighbor. If you enjoy playing a musical instrument, volunteer to play in your church band. If you’re into hunting, give a portion of the meat you process to a family you know could use it. If you love gardening, invite a young college student over to garden with you, and turn your time together into a time for life-on-life discipleship and mentorship in her life.
When we use our hobbies to be a blessing for others, it compounds the joy we have in the hobby itself.
“We always find time for the things in life that are most important to us. ”
Find Activities to Renew Your Soul
So, yeah. I think you should have a hobby. And even though you’re busy with life, we always find time for the things in life that are most important to us.
If you don’t know where to start, here are some common hobbies that lots of people enjoy: gardening, photography, playing a musical instrument, a sport like golf, tennis, or racquetball, woodworking, painting, cooking, astronomy, puzzles, hunting/fishing. These are what I would consider “everyday” hobbies: hobbies that don’t require large expenses, travel, or inordinate amounts of time. You want to have as few obstacles between you and your hobby as possible so that you don’t have many excuses to avoid it.
I think hobbies are the best kind of recreation activities out there. And if you can be diligent to protect time and space for one in your life, I think you’ll find it to be a great re-creating activity for your heart and soul too.
Matt Lantz is a husband, father, and pastor who lives in Fort Worth, Texas with his wife and three children. He’s a graduate of TCU and Dallas Theological Seminary and has been working in full-time ministry since 2000 preparing the way for the Lord Jesus in the lives of men and women. Matt was the founding director of a discipleship program called the Forge at Pine Cove where he spent 12 years helping young men and women learn their identity and steward it well. These days he is serving as the West Campus Pastor for Christ Chapel Bible Church in Fort Worth, TX.
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