Stop It: Boredom

I am so bored with the complaint, "I'm bored!" It is amazing to me that our world of hundreds of TV channels, high speed internet, sophisticated home gaming systems, IPods and the IPad, has become uninteresting, not only to small children, but to adults as well. How is it possible that we can be so bored when there are so many ways to occupy our time and attention?

To be "a bore" has been an expression in the English language since the 18th century, referring to a person who was dull or uninteresting. Charles Dickens used the word "boredom" for the first time in the novel, The Bleak House, in 1852 (some theorize this was Dicken's way of expressing his views about his publisher, or his general attitude after writing his ninth novel). However boredom is an ancient concept referring to a lack of fascination and satisfaction with life and its activities.

While psychological studies have been done to understand the emotional response of being bored, it is my opinion that boredom is every much a philosophical result of a person's worldview, rather than a condition of one's emotions. People who are bored easily are so because few events and people captivate their interests. Activities and entertainment are used to fill time and provide some sense of excitement and purpose, but after a while, those become mundane and uninteresting.

So, before I bore you further with more questions and theories, let me tell you what I believe the cure is for boredom. Curing bored begins with accepting a worldview which believes that enjoying life is not about constant entertainment and rushes of adrenaline, but rather enjoying the richness and fullness of creation, even when doing nothing.

I realize there are those who just read this blog and said, "how boring." Each week, I preach to an audience where I know there are at least a handful who are bored before the message begins. However, before you write this blog off altogether, consider this cure for boredom: seek to be engaged, rather than entertained. Be more engaged in life's simple pleasures - in conversation with someone you can learn from, in contemplation of God's meaning for life, in participation of activities that actually make a difference in the world.

How can you stop from being bored? Stop being a bore, and quit depending upon artificial activities and fantasies from having preeminence in your life. Engage yourself with God, his world, and his people, and not only will the world become more interesting, but so will you.