Are they the same thing? Is there a real difference? Does it make a difference? I think there is a difference and whether it makes a difference to you or not is your own decision. I think there is a real difference between what joy and happiness is and it is useful to understand the difference.
Let me use another analogy to explain what I believe the difference to be. If you are a parent you no doubt love your child(ren). That is something as a parent I felt from the moment we knew my wife was pregnant. That will never change. I will always love my children. Nothing can take that away. However, occasionally they have not made me happy. I still love them even though I may not be happy with them. See the paradox here? I love them even if at times I don't like them. Love and like are a lot like Joy and happiness. Love is like joy. Like is like happiness. Love and joy stay for a lifetime. Like and happiness come and go, sometimes several times a day.
You can fall out of like with someone. You can't fall out of love. That's why it is important to understand the difference between the two. Some confuse the two as the same when there is a world of difference. They are confused that because they may not like someone today, they have fallen out of love with them. In fact, you can experience deep love for someone even when you don't like what they are doing.
Getting back the the Joy vs. happiness conversation, I think the founding fathers of our country got it right when they described what we have come to refer to as "the American Dream" as "the pursuit of happiness." That is why the American Dream is a hopeless end. Happiness is fleeting, that is why it must be pursued. Know this, it will always outrun you. You may think you have captured happiness when you get that new house, until the roof leaks or the paint peels, then you have to run after happiness again.
Joy on the other hand is a destination. It is a place of being, it doesn't just run off. Even when i am grieving at the loss of a beloved niece, there is a joy in my heart that she is in the presence of the Lord. A real paradox for sure. I don't have to chase after joy, it is a place I choose to live.
Happiness I know will come and go. I enjoy it when it manages to run past me, but when it eventually runs on, I know it will be back. In the meantime I am sustained by joy.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
There Was An Earthquake, Does That Mean Jesus Is Coming?
I hadn't planned to write this blog installment, but thought I might just in case someone fails to get my previous comments in context and I become the newest person to be branded a heretic.
As a pastor, I get questions often after a world-class disaster, Japan being the most recent, if this signals the end of the world. Many people somehow think that because there is an earthquake, a war, a tsunami, something bad, etc., that this somehow signals that Jesus is coming. Well, a little bit yes, but mostly no. Yes, Jesus is coming, no doubt about that. But listen to what Jesus has to say about this:
Matthew 24:6 (NKJV)
And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Did you get the last line of that verse? Seems many overlook it. The truth is, there has always been earthquakes and tsunamis and wars and famine and Hitlers and on and on. I am sure in the darkest days of WWII it felt like the end of the world and Hitler was surely the Antichrist. Nope. It wasn't it. My hunch is, Japan is a bad situation, but doesn't necessarily mean it launches the Great Tribulation.
Quite to the contrary, Jesus described the world just before his coming and it looks quite different:
Matthew 24:37-39 (NKJV)
But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. [38] For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, [39] and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
It sounds to me like just before the coming of Jesus things are going to be pretty good. Reread all of the parables Jesus told describing his return, they all agree that his servants get lax and lazy because times are easy and it seems "he delays his coming."
Why do we think Jesus is coming when things are bad? Let me assure you, things will get bad AFTER Jesus comes for his church.
Matthew 24:44 (NKJV)
Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
When do we expect Jesus to come? Generally right after the latest tsunami, when the national debt finally implodes and the price of gas is $10 a gallon. I suspect it won't be so.
I am not making light of the situation in Japan. That situation is serious and the Japanese people deserve our prayers and our help. Case in point to have created enough margin in your life to help them out.
I am anticipating Jesus' sudden return, any day, any time. But I do suspect that it won't be an earthquake that makes him come. He'll come when the Father says, "it's time."
As a pastor, I get questions often after a world-class disaster, Japan being the most recent, if this signals the end of the world. Many people somehow think that because there is an earthquake, a war, a tsunami, something bad, etc., that this somehow signals that Jesus is coming. Well, a little bit yes, but mostly no. Yes, Jesus is coming, no doubt about that. But listen to what Jesus has to say about this:
Matthew 24:6 (NKJV)
And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Did you get the last line of that verse? Seems many overlook it. The truth is, there has always been earthquakes and tsunamis and wars and famine and Hitlers and on and on. I am sure in the darkest days of WWII it felt like the end of the world and Hitler was surely the Antichrist. Nope. It wasn't it. My hunch is, Japan is a bad situation, but doesn't necessarily mean it launches the Great Tribulation.
Quite to the contrary, Jesus described the world just before his coming and it looks quite different:
Matthew 24:37-39 (NKJV)
But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. [38] For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, [39] and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
It sounds to me like just before the coming of Jesus things are going to be pretty good. Reread all of the parables Jesus told describing his return, they all agree that his servants get lax and lazy because times are easy and it seems "he delays his coming."
Why do we think Jesus is coming when things are bad? Let me assure you, things will get bad AFTER Jesus comes for his church.
Matthew 24:44 (NKJV)
Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
When do we expect Jesus to come? Generally right after the latest tsunami, when the national debt finally implodes and the price of gas is $10 a gallon. I suspect it won't be so.
I am not making light of the situation in Japan. That situation is serious and the Japanese people deserve our prayers and our help. Case in point to have created enough margin in your life to help them out.
I am anticipating Jesus' sudden return, any day, any time. But I do suspect that it won't be an earthquake that makes him come. He'll come when the Father says, "it's time."
Creating Margin
I spoke something in my message last Sunday that like so many things spoken in any given message I did not plan to say. It wasn't in my notes and I didn't think of it ahead of time but it just really fit the need at the time and I spoke it. BTW, if you want to hear the whole message look it up on our church website: www.kenainewlife.org
I spoke briefly about the need to create margin in our lives. This week I have heard from several people who each remarked on that one word I never planned to say. I said it because I am amazed at how so many people live on the razor edge of disaster and that in relatively good times. We used to say "living paycheck to paycheck", but that is long obsolete. So many people live "credit card to credit card" anymore. One hiccup in their world and their whole house of(credit)cards comes crashing down, which it was destined to do anyway.
I was speaking about our response to world disaster like recent events in Haiti, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, New Orleans, Samoa and most recently, Japan. What these events tell us is not that specifically Jesus is coming (don't read me wrong here) just because there was an earthquake but that hiccups or worse, tsunami's happen to us.
Just for the record, download the sermon so you get all of my comments in context.
What we should do in our daily lives is create margin for when the tsunami's of life happen to us, we have some capacity to absorb them and to help others.
Margin applies to every area of our lives. If you live "stressed out" all the time you need to create some emotional margin. If you live credit card to credit card, you need to create financial margin. If you are lonely and isolated, you need to create some relational margin.
Margin is what we prepare in advance of our tsunami's that allows us to survive when a wall of disaster threatens to overwhelm us and the people around us. Thankfully we do not get tsunamis every day of our lives. So if we prepare NOW, ahead of time, when it eventually does come, it doesn't have to devastate us.
Margin is created by living well within your means, by developing deep relationships with other Christians, by keeping your family together in loving relationships, by spending time alone in prayer and scripture with Jesus. I think you get the idea.
I am NOT saying to hoard food, gold, bullets or the like against the end of the world. That all is useless anyway. But have some depth in your life in as many areas as you can identify so that when the time comes, you have the extra capacity to absorb the situation and be a beacon of hope and help to others.
I spoke briefly about the need to create margin in our lives. This week I have heard from several people who each remarked on that one word I never planned to say. I said it because I am amazed at how so many people live on the razor edge of disaster and that in relatively good times. We used to say "living paycheck to paycheck", but that is long obsolete. So many people live "credit card to credit card" anymore. One hiccup in their world and their whole house of(credit)cards comes crashing down, which it was destined to do anyway.
I was speaking about our response to world disaster like recent events in Haiti, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, New Orleans, Samoa and most recently, Japan. What these events tell us is not that specifically Jesus is coming (don't read me wrong here) just because there was an earthquake but that hiccups or worse, tsunami's happen to us.
Just for the record, download the sermon so you get all of my comments in context.
What we should do in our daily lives is create margin for when the tsunami's of life happen to us, we have some capacity to absorb them and to help others.
Margin applies to every area of our lives. If you live "stressed out" all the time you need to create some emotional margin. If you live credit card to credit card, you need to create financial margin. If you are lonely and isolated, you need to create some relational margin.
Margin is what we prepare in advance of our tsunami's that allows us to survive when a wall of disaster threatens to overwhelm us and the people around us. Thankfully we do not get tsunamis every day of our lives. So if we prepare NOW, ahead of time, when it eventually does come, it doesn't have to devastate us.
Margin is created by living well within your means, by developing deep relationships with other Christians, by keeping your family together in loving relationships, by spending time alone in prayer and scripture with Jesus. I think you get the idea.
I am NOT saying to hoard food, gold, bullets or the like against the end of the world. That all is useless anyway. But have some depth in your life in as many areas as you can identify so that when the time comes, you have the extra capacity to absorb the situation and be a beacon of hope and help to others.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Off To The Races
I have been contemplating the strange situation that exists for me in finding inspiration in writing/speaking for most of my ministry. Some call it writer's block, lack of inspiration and just a plain lack of ideas. Since I make my living largely from speaking/writing, this is a weekly challenge. Especially when you have been speaking weekly in the same place and to some of the same people for 23 years, seeking out new things to say can become a daunting task.
Take for instance holidays. Something as wonderful as the gospel Christmas story or next on the calendar, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, can become challenging to communicate in a fresh way. The challenge to be fresh is for my own sake, not to become monotonous or uninspired as well as for my listeners. The Sunday to Sunday sermons, er, I mean talks, are less so, but have their moments as well.
In my experience it mostly lies with the decision about what to talk about, whether writing or speaking. Once I determine what I am going to talk about, it is off to the races. I can spend days contemplating and praying about what to communicate with great intensity and then in a moment, I decide and my typing fingers can hardly keep pace with my thoughts. It is amazing to discover what is in inside that you don't know is inside you.
Of course, there is the years of content from reading my Bible through each year, reading widely from books to newspapers and one of the more overlooked sources, listening to what people are talking about. Once the determination is made about what to talk about, the stored up content of scripture, current events and current topics come flooding the the forefront from who-knows-where recesses of the mind.
It is an amazing dynamic. You can stammer around for days thinking you have nothing to say until you find out you do. Once the right thought, topic or event has the attention, a seemingly empty brain becomes flooded to overflowing. For preachers it is determining what we believe God wants said. For others, it is tapping into a personal passion or fascination.
Writing for a blog is an exercise I think would be good for everyone, whether or not anyone else reads it. It is good to allow some of what is on the inside out. You would be surprised that once you pierce the dam of ideas that has had no outlet, it quickly becomes a torrent of words and thoughts.
Take for instance holidays. Something as wonderful as the gospel Christmas story or next on the calendar, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, can become challenging to communicate in a fresh way. The challenge to be fresh is for my own sake, not to become monotonous or uninspired as well as for my listeners. The Sunday to Sunday sermons, er, I mean talks, are less so, but have their moments as well.
In my experience it mostly lies with the decision about what to talk about, whether writing or speaking. Once I determine what I am going to talk about, it is off to the races. I can spend days contemplating and praying about what to communicate with great intensity and then in a moment, I decide and my typing fingers can hardly keep pace with my thoughts. It is amazing to discover what is in inside that you don't know is inside you.
Of course, there is the years of content from reading my Bible through each year, reading widely from books to newspapers and one of the more overlooked sources, listening to what people are talking about. Once the determination is made about what to talk about, the stored up content of scripture, current events and current topics come flooding the the forefront from who-knows-where recesses of the mind.
It is an amazing dynamic. You can stammer around for days thinking you have nothing to say until you find out you do. Once the right thought, topic or event has the attention, a seemingly empty brain becomes flooded to overflowing. For preachers it is determining what we believe God wants said. For others, it is tapping into a personal passion or fascination.
Writing for a blog is an exercise I think would be good for everyone, whether or not anyone else reads it. It is good to allow some of what is on the inside out. You would be surprised that once you pierce the dam of ideas that has had no outlet, it quickly becomes a torrent of words and thoughts.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
You, Wealth and God
“And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?” (Luke 16:11, NLT)
It has been said that to keep friendships, a good rule of thumb is never to talk about politics. I think that money is a more sensitive subject myself. Why? I suppose it is different for each person, but I suspect that the most common reasons are, we are afraid that someone is out to get our money, that if people knew how we spent our money they would disapprove, we might feel inferior if people knew they made more money than we do or, if we make more money than someone else they might think differently of us.
It is my personal opinion that God wants to bless His people in every way, one of them being with wealth. However, before He does that, as the above verse implies, we must demonstrate our ability to be trustworthy with what He has given us. I think the following verse gives us a lot of insight to this:
1 Cor. 10:13 (NKJV)
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
I know we don't often think of this verse in regards to God trusting us with more money, but I think it is easily illustrated that some people in regards to their money do not handle it well. Why would God want to give us more of something we do not handle well? So, He keeps us at a level we are able to bear.
On the positive side, when we demonstrate trustworthiness with money, God is able to bring more of it our way. The Parable of the Talents speaks to this point (Matthew 25:14-28). Make no mistake here, Jesus is talking about money, not a "talent" like playing the flute.
Frustrated with your financial situation? Run a checklist on your financial habits. Do you avoid debt? Do you tithe? Do you support missions? Do you save a portion of your income? These questions and others are a way to measure whether or not you are trustworthy enough for God to allow additional wealth to be entrusted to you. Answering NO to any of these questions will spell limitations on how God can upgrade your financial status. Remember, when we are faithful with a little, God gives us the green light to be trusted with something greater.
John's greeting in his third epistle, "3 John 1:2 (NKJV)
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers." Gives us the key. Want to upgrade your prospering? Upgrade your soul. How do we do that? Obedience. Avoid debt. Tithe on your income to the Lord. Give generously to missions. Save a portion of your income. As your soul prospers through obedience in your finances you will see a corresponding prosperity in that area of obedience.
It has been said that to keep friendships, a good rule of thumb is never to talk about politics. I think that money is a more sensitive subject myself. Why? I suppose it is different for each person, but I suspect that the most common reasons are, we are afraid that someone is out to get our money, that if people knew how we spent our money they would disapprove, we might feel inferior if people knew they made more money than we do or, if we make more money than someone else they might think differently of us.
It is my personal opinion that God wants to bless His people in every way, one of them being with wealth. However, before He does that, as the above verse implies, we must demonstrate our ability to be trustworthy with what He has given us. I think the following verse gives us a lot of insight to this:
1 Cor. 10:13 (NKJV)
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
I know we don't often think of this verse in regards to God trusting us with more money, but I think it is easily illustrated that some people in regards to their money do not handle it well. Why would God want to give us more of something we do not handle well? So, He keeps us at a level we are able to bear.
On the positive side, when we demonstrate trustworthiness with money, God is able to bring more of it our way. The Parable of the Talents speaks to this point (Matthew 25:14-28). Make no mistake here, Jesus is talking about money, not a "talent" like playing the flute.
Frustrated with your financial situation? Run a checklist on your financial habits. Do you avoid debt? Do you tithe? Do you support missions? Do you save a portion of your income? These questions and others are a way to measure whether or not you are trustworthy enough for God to allow additional wealth to be entrusted to you. Answering NO to any of these questions will spell limitations on how God can upgrade your financial status. Remember, when we are faithful with a little, God gives us the green light to be trusted with something greater.
John's greeting in his third epistle, "3 John 1:2 (NKJV)
Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers." Gives us the key. Want to upgrade your prospering? Upgrade your soul. How do we do that? Obedience. Avoid debt. Tithe on your income to the Lord. Give generously to missions. Save a portion of your income. As your soul prospers through obedience in your finances you will see a corresponding prosperity in that area of obedience.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
My To Sent Rant
Maybe it is just me, but there is an increasing irony in this day and age of compounding ways we communicate. Actually, it may not be increasing but with the vastly increasing ways we communicate it may be that an already embarrassing situation is being exposed. What I am I about to rant about? I don't know if there is a technical term for it but it does seem there is a deplorable case of poor written grammar of crisis magnitude.
This may have always been the case with the great unwashed. But with all of the Twitter, FaceBook, blogging, etc., etc. going on, people who fancy themselves communicators (they used to be pastors, speakers or professionals in some sense) expose their awful grasp of grammar. An example? OK.
Just yesterday I spotted a sporty, good looking communicator posting on FB. He's got the style, he's got the dash, he is important and in demand. However, he should not be doing his own status updates. He was informing all that, "I am on my way across country sitting next to my daughter on the plain." Really?
Oh, I know, don't get my panties in a bunch. I could let something like that go, but especially for those whom people must trust and put confidence in and esteem as competent, this sort of thing is embarrassing like an open fly with a shirt tail hanging out in front of a crowd.
There are too many examples to list, but some of the more common and pervasive grammar errors are as follows. In number one place is the use of "your" in place of "you're". Did everyone fall asleep in class the day they covered contractions? In number two place is the use of "there" instead of "their." Possessive pronouns must be suffering an identity crisis. In number three place is the use of "here" for "hear" or vice versa. Please. This was humorous back in the day, now it's just the norm. You might as well have a blacked out tooth and a cowlick to enhance your perception of competence.
The saving grace in all this? Most people don't even notice. Since the problem is so widespread it isn't even noticed as a problem. If you ever mention the awkward correction to an offender, most of the time I have found, they don't even care. They are so pragmatic that to them if it sounds the same, it is the same.
I enjoy bits of history and sometimes read a handwritten letter that thanks to the internet and PDF files, you can see the actual document on screen. In most of the documents from the early days of our country, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, the handwriting would pass for calligraphy today. Not only are the words beautiful in form, but the content is articulate and eloquent as well. I would think most people today would think our forefathers were a bunch of hayseeds but that label certainly applies to us. Just read the preamble of the Constitution of the United States. Tell me, who can keep pace with such language as high art?
I suppose I shouldn't be so hard on everyone. My downfall is punctuation. At least most bad grammar offenders spell the wrong word correctly most of the time. That may be more attributable to spell check than competence, but we'll score one on the positive side so you don't think I am just a grouch.
So, I can't wait to ride on a plain at knight, feeling the piece of God while hereing worship music on my iPod waiting to get their. Thanks for reading my rant, I think your awesome.
This may have always been the case with the great unwashed. But with all of the Twitter, FaceBook, blogging, etc., etc. going on, people who fancy themselves communicators (they used to be pastors, speakers or professionals in some sense) expose their awful grasp of grammar. An example? OK.
Just yesterday I spotted a sporty, good looking communicator posting on FB. He's got the style, he's got the dash, he is important and in demand. However, he should not be doing his own status updates. He was informing all that, "I am on my way across country sitting next to my daughter on the plain." Really?
Oh, I know, don't get my panties in a bunch. I could let something like that go, but especially for those whom people must trust and put confidence in and esteem as competent, this sort of thing is embarrassing like an open fly with a shirt tail hanging out in front of a crowd.
There are too many examples to list, but some of the more common and pervasive grammar errors are as follows. In number one place is the use of "your" in place of "you're". Did everyone fall asleep in class the day they covered contractions? In number two place is the use of "there" instead of "their." Possessive pronouns must be suffering an identity crisis. In number three place is the use of "here" for "hear" or vice versa. Please. This was humorous back in the day, now it's just the norm. You might as well have a blacked out tooth and a cowlick to enhance your perception of competence.
The saving grace in all this? Most people don't even notice. Since the problem is so widespread it isn't even noticed as a problem. If you ever mention the awkward correction to an offender, most of the time I have found, they don't even care. They are so pragmatic that to them if it sounds the same, it is the same.
I enjoy bits of history and sometimes read a handwritten letter that thanks to the internet and PDF files, you can see the actual document on screen. In most of the documents from the early days of our country, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, the handwriting would pass for calligraphy today. Not only are the words beautiful in form, but the content is articulate and eloquent as well. I would think most people today would think our forefathers were a bunch of hayseeds but that label certainly applies to us. Just read the preamble of the Constitution of the United States. Tell me, who can keep pace with such language as high art?
I suppose I shouldn't be so hard on everyone. My downfall is punctuation. At least most bad grammar offenders spell the wrong word correctly most of the time. That may be more attributable to spell check than competence, but we'll score one on the positive side so you don't think I am just a grouch.
So, I can't wait to ride on a plain at knight, feeling the piece of God while hereing worship music on my iPod waiting to get their. Thanks for reading my rant, I think your awesome.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Solitude
First of all, to anyone who might have even noticed, I have been off this blog for quite awhile. Like everything that gets disrupted it has been a combination of busyness, forgetfulness and at times a lack of inspiration. However, sometimes a break is good for all involved and I will try to at least be a little more regular in my posts.
I find when I seemingly can't find any inspiration for something to talk about, it really isn't true. All I really need is to identify something for which I have something to say. The problem is, I didn't know I had something to say about it. But once it comes to my attention I can hardly type fast enough to keep up with my thoughts. Something of such has been nagging at my mind trying to get enough attention to become a topic of conversation with me. It is the frequency with which I encounter those who claim to be bored.
I see quite often on FaceBook or some such public offering of inconsequential and meaningless details of life, a single entry on someone's status: BORED.
Honestly, I can't imagine it. I am rarely truly bored, and when I think I am, I can get over it pretty quick. There is always something to do, somewhere to go or a blog post waiting to be written. What I think is more often the case is the "bored" confuse anxiousness and restlessness with boredom. Being bored to me says you have abdicated your ability to think for yourself. I also think especially in this present age that we are confused with moments of not being entertained with boredom. Who can be truly bored when we have so much at our disposal? Things to listen to, watch, the rapidly expanding options with which to communicate are all before us. On my phone of all things, I can communicate with texts, email, FaceBook, Twitter, blogs, a number of ways I haven't even had the inclination to explore and, oh yes, I can actually talk to someone. And that is just my phone.
I think the difference in being bored or not bored is the ability to be by yourself successfully. Not everyone I am discovering can do this. To one, being by yourself is to be alone. To another it is solitude. They are not the same. Being alone is terrifying. The single most hellish part of Hell will be the profound aloneness those who choose go there will realize. Not even prayer will penetrate the blackness of Hell. No ability to reach out to anyone or anything, for help, hope or company. Grim indeed. True boredom is a preview of such.
Solitude on the other hand is far different. It is not a state of being bored or even alone even though you might be by yourself. In solitude, I can pray, I can think, I can wonder, question, read, rest, recharge and renew. I am not afraid to be in solitude. I actually like myself for company. And too, I am never truly alone. I am in contact with God. He did promise never to leave or forsake. Who can be bored in the presence of the Creator of everything? To be bored is to deny the existence of God in the present. You might believe in God, but to be bored is to deny He is anywhere near. You cannot be bored in the presence of God.
The next time you are thinking of letting the world know of your updated status with the single word: BORED, reconsider. It is true or is it telling you something else? Have you lost your purpose? Are you in spiritual desertion, denying the reality of God in your present? There are plenty of options be being bored. Boredom is giving up, being dependent upon something external to keep us entertained. A recent study of those who have suffered a traumatic brain injury depriving them of use of limbs and the ability to speak revealed something interesting. Living with "Locked In Syndrome" and only being able to communicate through eye blinks, they have found a way to thrive. A majority of those who were surveyed were able to communicate that they were happy with their lives. Imagine that! And so many who have everything available to them, the full use of their bodies allow themselves the luxury of boredom.
We can do better.
I find when I seemingly can't find any inspiration for something to talk about, it really isn't true. All I really need is to identify something for which I have something to say. The problem is, I didn't know I had something to say about it. But once it comes to my attention I can hardly type fast enough to keep up with my thoughts. Something of such has been nagging at my mind trying to get enough attention to become a topic of conversation with me. It is the frequency with which I encounter those who claim to be bored.
I see quite often on FaceBook or some such public offering of inconsequential and meaningless details of life, a single entry on someone's status: BORED.
Honestly, I can't imagine it. I am rarely truly bored, and when I think I am, I can get over it pretty quick. There is always something to do, somewhere to go or a blog post waiting to be written. What I think is more often the case is the "bored" confuse anxiousness and restlessness with boredom. Being bored to me says you have abdicated your ability to think for yourself. I also think especially in this present age that we are confused with moments of not being entertained with boredom. Who can be truly bored when we have so much at our disposal? Things to listen to, watch, the rapidly expanding options with which to communicate are all before us. On my phone of all things, I can communicate with texts, email, FaceBook, Twitter, blogs, a number of ways I haven't even had the inclination to explore and, oh yes, I can actually talk to someone. And that is just my phone.
I think the difference in being bored or not bored is the ability to be by yourself successfully. Not everyone I am discovering can do this. To one, being by yourself is to be alone. To another it is solitude. They are not the same. Being alone is terrifying. The single most hellish part of Hell will be the profound aloneness those who choose go there will realize. Not even prayer will penetrate the blackness of Hell. No ability to reach out to anyone or anything, for help, hope or company. Grim indeed. True boredom is a preview of such.
Solitude on the other hand is far different. It is not a state of being bored or even alone even though you might be by yourself. In solitude, I can pray, I can think, I can wonder, question, read, rest, recharge and renew. I am not afraid to be in solitude. I actually like myself for company. And too, I am never truly alone. I am in contact with God. He did promise never to leave or forsake. Who can be bored in the presence of the Creator of everything? To be bored is to deny the existence of God in the present. You might believe in God, but to be bored is to deny He is anywhere near. You cannot be bored in the presence of God.
The next time you are thinking of letting the world know of your updated status with the single word: BORED, reconsider. It is true or is it telling you something else? Have you lost your purpose? Are you in spiritual desertion, denying the reality of God in your present? There are plenty of options be being bored. Boredom is giving up, being dependent upon something external to keep us entertained. A recent study of those who have suffered a traumatic brain injury depriving them of use of limbs and the ability to speak revealed something interesting. Living with "Locked In Syndrome" and only being able to communicate through eye blinks, they have found a way to thrive. A majority of those who were surveyed were able to communicate that they were happy with their lives. Imagine that! And so many who have everything available to them, the full use of their bodies allow themselves the luxury of boredom.
We can do better.
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