The Selfishness of Boredom
I know that many people do not like it when one writes about their pet peeves, but I just had to write a post regarding one of my “facebook” peeves. Setting aside all that is often said in people’s status’s for the moment, I just wanted to comment on when people post their status as “bored.” As a teacher, I have told my students on many occasions that this drives me crazy, and maybe that is why some of them continue to put it on as their status from time to time. Since seeing this most recently, I have spent some time thinking about what it means to say that we are bored and not just in the context of Facebook, but anytime we declare our boredom. Here are some of my thoughts, and again, they are just some brief thoughts that are open for discussion:
First, probably most importantly, we are telling God that he has not provided for us well enough. God does not satisfy enough and therefore I am bored because He has not provided enough for me to do or to enjoy. Here is where the selfishness of boredom comes into play as you are only concerned about yourself. There is a lot to think about in this.
Secondly, and closely tied to the first, boredom brings in the issue of contentment. In essence, you are declaring that you are not content with the life that God has for you at the moment because it is not gratifying your fleshly desires. Yet, as a Christian, we know that the Bible instructs us to be content in all things. We are to be content in God as He has provided us with everything that we need.
Thirdly, and this particularly points to a facebook status, by declaring our boredom to all our “facebook friends” you are telling them that they are not meeting your needs at that particular time. Again, it is all about you. Now you have gone beyond telling God that He isn’t meeting your needs, but neither are any of your “friends.”
Boredom revolves around self, and is something that we really need to consider in light of some of these thoughts. God has provided amply for us and we are to be satisfied in Him, never mind what is going on or what we have to do at the moment. Our joy, our contentment is to be in God even while we are busy and not bored. This is not to say that we do not struggle with times that can seem boring or tasks that are monotonous, but we struggle to find what God has for us in those times and situations that we can rejoice and enjoy Him. As for the students that I teach, READ A BOOK. 
In all seriousness, there are plenty of things that we can do and focus on as we feel ourselves falling into a state of “boredom,” and we must. As we saw earlier, we are to be content in all things, remembering that God has provided us all that we need pertaining to “life and godliness.”
Still bored? What do you think? Please add your thoughts.
John
Jess
Andrew
I’ve got some pretty strong feelings about boredom too. Thanks for sharing yours. Boredom is, I think, a product of laziness – of heart, mind, and body. When my kids would sometimes say they were bored, I’d usually respond with, “Well, I’ve got an idea!”
“What?” they would respond.
I would then suggest a chore that needed doing.
Needless to say, my kids did not complain of boredom too much.
God has created an amazing world for us to live in and wonder at, ordained as well that we work and be creative, and given us a limited life-span in which to do it. Considering these things there should be no place for boredom.
I used to have a post-it note on my car dashboard that read:
“To be discontent is to accuse God of unrighteousness in His dealings with us. To complain is akin to blasphemy.”
The sticky wore off and the note was lost and without the reminder I found myself beginning to complain again!
Very good point about the limited time that God has given us. I also like the quote and the idea of keeping reminders like that before us as we are so apt to forget.