# Bored all the time



## eternallifeinchrist (May 19, 2007)

Do any of you feel bored most of the time>? I feel like since 1993 I have been bored probably 70% of the time. I mean except during finals weeks and just crazy times like that... Does anyone else feel this way? Is it because I was raised with something to do everyday?


----------



## staythecourse (May 19, 2007)

*Go out and tell people about Christ*

See how bored you get doing that!  Tough thing to do when you're witnessing about Christ. Tried that lately? It would be a cure.


----------



## turmeric (May 19, 2007)

What changed in 1993?


----------



## VictorBravo (May 19, 2007)

eternallifeinchrist said:


> Do any of you feel bored most of the time>? I feel like since 1993 I have been bored probably 70% of the time. I mean except during finals weeks and just crazy times like that... Does anyone else feel this way? Is it because I was raised with something to do everyday?



What changed in 1993? It seems like a long time to be bored.

I think boredom is really a symptom of being afraid to fail. It goes away immediately once you start on the thing you dread. At least that's how I take it. I consider boredom to be a red flag telling me I'm avoiding something I shouldn't.

It's not the same thing as impatience. It's easy to be impatient if I'm forced to endure something I think is stupid (committee meetings, lectures by bad professors, etc.) In those circumstances, the remedy is to make good use of the time despite the annoyance. For example, in a committee meeting you might analyze just why they don't work and come up with a solution. Or maybe you could balance your checkbook.

And, as stated above, proclaiming the gospel will often lead to exciting moments.


----------



## bwsmith (May 19, 2007)

eternallifeinchrist said:


> Do any of you feel bored most of the time>? I feel like since 1993 I have been bored probably 70% of the time. I mean except during finals weeks and just crazy times like that... Does anyone else feel this way? Is it because I was raised with something to do everyday?



How can you be bored reading Scripture, or as others have suggesting serving God through sharing Christ? 

Counting a few blessings banishes boredom -- so does praying for people, and the Lord will gladly lay a few prayer burdens on your heart.


----------



## Davidius (May 19, 2007)

Self-study is a good way to deal with boredom. I always recommend a language.



trevorjohnson said:


> Amanda;
> 
> Sorry but boredom is a sin. It shows lack of vision, lack of goals to work for, a seeming lack of purpose. I can pray but it is hard to muster sympathy to pray for a bored person like it is to pray for a sick or even a depressed person.



That seems like a pretty strong blanket statement to make. The bible says that laziness is a sin but do the two always have to be the same? Boredom can be ignorance of how to use one's time. Maybe she just needs some ideas.


----------



## eternallifeinchrist (May 19, 2007)

Hehe! Thank you for all your wisdom and helpful ideas. Several of them fall into my 30%. God really does make life exciting and fun. In 1993 I stopped attending day high school. I think I just had so much to do as a kid. Funny, the language study thing does work. I like it here too...


----------



## eternallifeinchrist (May 20, 2007)

Thank you!


----------



## Puritanhead (May 20, 2007)

bwsmith said:


> How can you be bored reading Scripture...?


 That is possible. Lets not kid ourselves.


----------



## bwsmith (May 20, 2007)

Puritanhead said:


> That is possible. Lets not kid ourselves.



I am not kidding -- perhaps the view that it Scripture is boring to readers explains some of the posts I've read here.


----------



## Davidius (May 20, 2007)

trevorjohnson said:


> I live among folks who often work in hot rice fields for 12 hours a day to earn about 2 USD per day. They have plenty to do.



Right, and because people are starving in Africa I'd better make sure to eat every last bite on my plate. 

Not everyone has to work 12 hours a day to make $2. Therefore people who don't live in Indonesia need to find other things to do with their time. Finding the best thing is not always easy. If you're in the kind of situation you described then the solution is simple, but not everyone is. What people in the third world do is not our standard and shouldn't be used to make people feel guilty and start dropping the S bomb. Not everyone is called to the same thing. The question is whether her perceived boredom is keeping her from attending to the responsibilities entailed in the calling God has given _her_, which may not include running around from dawn until dusk as it does for some. I will agree that our _response_ to boredom can be sinful but will assert again that the real issue is not boredom itself. To talk otherwise seems to be like saying temptation is a sin in itself instead of what we do with temptation. 



bwsmith said:


> I am not kidding -- perhaps the view that it Scripture is boring to readers explains some of the posts I've read here.



bwsmith,

We're sinful and don't love God's law like we ought. If you've found some way to become free of this then I'd love to hear how you did it. Scripture is not boring _per se_ and we should repent of our coldness toward it. But what you said made it sound like people on this board see it otherwise. Is that what you meant?


----------



## bookslover (May 21, 2007)

The actor George Sanders committed suicide because he was bored. In his note, he said that he'd been everywhere he ever wanted to go, and had met everyone he had ever wanted to meet; plus, he felt he was at the end of his acting career, I suppose - so he just checked out.

A man without Christ...


----------



## Reformed Baptist (May 21, 2007)

trevorjohnson said:


> Carolina Calvinist: What's the S Bomb?




I am pretty sure he meant sin. 

Are you involved in humanitarian work or mission work?


----------



## Blueridge Believer (May 21, 2007)

Don't worry young lady. Age will eventually cure your boredom. 
The evil day will come and make you long for youth once again.


----------



## Timothy William (May 21, 2007)

First, a confession. I also get bored much of the time.

Simple lifestyle issues can be a large factor. I work reasonably long hours - 42 hours a week - but I find my job to be boring, and outside of work there is very little that I have to do each week. Being single and living alone makes a huge difference. 

I agree with Trevor to the extent that I can see that sin can be a cause of boredom, but I struggle to see boredom itself aas a sin. If it is a sin because it shows a lack of contentment then frustration, impatience and the like would also be sins.


----------



## Davidius (May 21, 2007)

trevorjohnson said:


> Carolina Calvinist: What's the S Bomb?





Reformed Baptist said:


> I am pretty sure he meant sin.



Yes, that's what I meant.


----------



## jenney (May 21, 2007)

In my experience, I have too much sin and temptation to resist daily to get bored. I feel like I'm on a battlefield all the time to keep my heart from growing weary of well-doing, cool toward things of God and discontent. 

If you don't struggle with sin, well, maybe you are just more sanctified than I am, but you might want to take a good hard look at yourself and ask if you are living for yourself and your entertainment more than for Christ. Again, you might just be more sanctified than I am, but that is when I get bored: when I am living for me.


----------



## VictorBravo (May 21, 2007)

bwsmith said:


> I am not kidding -- perhaps the view that it Scripture is boring to readers explains some of the posts I've read here.



I note he said "possible" not "always is."

I read fifteen chapters of Deuteronomy yesterday. I fell asleep three times. Was it boredom? I don't know, but the naps helped. I was fully engaged by the last two.  

Yes, indeed, even reading scripture can expose boredom. I say expose, because it has something to do with attitude. Even the saints (perhaps especially the saints) often resist what is good. That's certainly a struggle I've dealt with all my life. It seems I recall the Apostle Paul having a similar problem.


----------



## staythecourse (May 21, 2007)

*The exciting parts of the Bible*

Either my sister can read through the laws on purification of disease without eyes glazing over, she's forgetting some parts, or she's really holy.

If we could fully (big emphasis on fully) understand the symbolism behind such things as all the parts of the building of the temple (e.g. why x amount of poles, why this material, why were 2 angels around the ark facing it, why this detail, why that) or the full meaning of the laws on skin disease and the priests role in confirming it, prescribing remedy, etc, then its not boring. To gaze at these passages is hard and effort will produce some gold from mining them but, as my brother says, napping in the work is easy to do.


----------



## bwsmith (May 21, 2007)

victorbravo said:


> I note he said "possible" not "always is."
> 
> I read fifteen chapters of Deuteronomy yesterday. I fell asleep three times. Was it boredom? I don't know, but the naps helped. I was fully engaged by the last two.
> 
> Yes, indeed, even reading scripture can expose boredom. I say expose, because it has something to do with attitude. Even the saints (perhaps especially the saints) often resist what is good. That's certainly a struggle I've dealt with all my life. It seems I recall the Apostle Paul having a similar problem.



Yes, I know what he said --and I stick by my observation.  I think someone fell asleep _listening_ to Paul. Acts 20:9. Where do you think Paul was bored reading Scripture?


----------



## Dwimble (May 21, 2007)

I can't speak for you or anyone else, but I've found in my own life the "I'm bored" statement is generally one of ungratefulness. It is a sure sign that I'm ignoring everything (or most things) that I've been blessed with and the things that I ought to be concerned with or doing, and I'm just concentrating on my own desires and self-gratification.

Feelings of boredom are about ME being entertained or gratified...and come in some way from an attitude or expectation that I am somehow OWED pleasure and entertainment. That's way I'll never take the words "I'm bored" from a child or someone else under my charge. If someone tells me that they are bored, then my attitude is, "You better find something to do really fast, because I guarantee you that I can find something for you to do, which you may not like." If I'm "bored" then it is also a safe bet that I'm seldom if ever productive and am neglecting MANY things that I should be concerned with.


----------



## VictorBravo (May 21, 2007)

bwsmith said:


> Yes, I know what he said --and I stick by my observation.  I think someone fell asleep _listening_ to Paul. Acts 20:9. Where do you think Paul was bored reading Scripture?



I was thinking more generally that Paul struggled with doing what was contrary to the law, even though it was good:

For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 
If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. 

Rom. 7:15-16.


----------



## bwsmith (May 21, 2007)

victorbravo said:


> I was thinking more generally that Paul struggled with doing what was contrary to the law, even though it was good:
> 
> For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
> If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
> ...



Ah - but he never said he grew _bored_, did he? Esp. with the wonders that God taught in the Law and the prophets . . .


----------



## bwsmith (May 21, 2007)

PS:
An internet definition described boredom as “a condition characterized by perception of one's environment as dull, tedious, and lacking stimuli. There is an inherent anxiety in boredom; ...” 

Paul struggled with a thorn - - could it have been boredom – falling asleep when studying the Scriptures that pointed to One who knocked him off his high horse?


----------



## VictorBravo (May 21, 2007)

bwsmith said:


> PS:
> An internet definition described boredom as “a condition characterized by perception of one's environment as dull, tedious, and lacking stimuli. There is an inherent anxiety in boredom; ...”
> 
> Paul struggled with a thorn - - could it have been boredom – falling asleep when studying the Scriptures that pointed to One who knocked him off his high horse?



 Could be, but I won't speculate.

I think Amanda was quite brave to bring up this topic. I think the definition you found is pretty good. 

When I read the initial post my first reaction was "huh, _I'm_ never bored." But I realize that that is hubris. What I really meant is that I'd never _admit _to being bored because I know there is so much out there for me to do, and to engage me, and to wonder at, that to admit to being bored would be to admit a great weakness.

It's because I agree with Trevor, I think boredom is a sin. And there are a lot of other sins that beset me.

But most of the answers I think are on the right track: boredom is a warning sign that something is amiss. It demands action (not necessarily physical action). That is where discipline comes in. I do think that when I notice boredom in my life I almost instinctively react by trying to identify what I'm trying to avoid. But it comes from a lifetime of being nagged by my parents, and later, learning to nag myself.


----------



## bookslover (May 21, 2007)

staythecourse said:


> If we could fully (big emphasis on fully) understand the symbolism behind such things as all the parts of the building of the temple (e.g. why x amount of poles, why this material, why were 2 angels around the ark facing it, why this detail, why that) or the full meaning of the laws on skin disease and the priests role in confirming it, prescribing remedy, etc, then its not boring. To gaze at these passages is hard and effort will produce some gold from mining them but, as my brother says, napping in the work is easy to do.



Of course, it's always possible that all those details contain no symbolism at all...


----------



## staythecourse (May 21, 2007)

*Some probably do*

The ark was behind a veil which was covered with angels and commentatorrs see it representing heaven. The priest had to pass through it representing Christ. At some point we have to see symbolism in the temple of God.


----------



## eternallifeinchrist (May 23, 2007)

Thank you!  I cannot believe how much you all are addressing what I needed to think about. Jenny, VictorBravo and Dwimble, I have felt (prayers maybe?) these concerns and been dealing with them the past day or so. Mr. Zuelch, I am okay and not bored enough to commit suicide. Thank you for addressing that issue openly. Ms. Smith I like the definition you found. The whole conversation was -hehe- unboring. Thank you! I haven't felt so bored lately either! God is amazing!


----------



## VictorBravo (May 23, 2007)

eternallifeinchrist said:


> Thank you!  I cannot believe how much you all are addressing what I needed to think about. Jenny, VictorBravo and Dwimble, I have felt (prayers maybe?) these concerns and been dealing with them the past day or so. Mr. Zuelch, I am okay and not bored enough to commit suicide. Thank you for addressing that issue openly. Ms. Smith I like the definition you found. The whole conversation was -hehe- unboring. Thank you! I haven't felt so bored lately either! God is amazing!





Praise God!


----------



## bwsmith (May 27, 2007)

eternallifeinchrist said:


> Do any of you feel bored most of the time>? I feel like since 1993 I have been bored probably 70% of the time. I mean except during finals weeks and just crazy times like that... Does anyone else feel this way? Is it because I was raised with something to do everyday?



I received this quote, and comment via e-mail today, and pass it along – for it goaded me a bit: 

_*The person who is bored in the modern world shows that he is in no full sense a member of it.*_ Brand Blanshard – ( for brief bio, see http://www.progressiveliving.org/brand_blanshard.htm)​
_Enthusiasm doesn't just happen to us. It's an attitude that is either fostered or hindered by our decisions about what we'll bring to our experiences --- from the most mundane to the momentous. This is true either throughout the day at hand or throughout our life. Deciding to be enthusiastic for a project comes easily when we've made up our mind to simply enjoy being alive.

*Gratitude* for the many blessings that recovery has brought even further heightens our enthusiasm for living. We all know people who are bored with their jobs, who withdraw from social involvement. Most of these people have lost touch with their fundamental sense of gratitude for what life has given them.

The power to enjoy life fully, to bring enthusiasm to whatever we do, is within our grasp. In fact, it's within our own mind._​
On this Memorial Day weekend, this little e-mail reminded me to thank God, more passionately for what I have, (because so often of HIS and others' sacrifices) and pursue HIM more resolutley in all my needs.


----------

