Now some will tell you they never get bored with life, but those same people will also tell you they like to take cold showers in the winter. Boredom can be a serious problem, even for Christians.
Let’s look at two things that will help us with this problem. First, we need to look at -
I. THE CAUSE OF BOREDOM
There are two primary causes of boredom.
A. THERE IS AN OVER-ABUNDANCE OF THINGS.
In America we live in a society where most are “blessed” with an OVER ABUNDANCE OF THINGS! That is, we have an abundance of things to occupy our time still we are bored. For example, today we have TV, Radio, Music, Movies, Internet, I-Pads, Video games, Cell phones etc.
Many believe the more you have the better chance you have of never becoming bored with life.
? We need not one television but many throughout the home.
? We need not one computer but many.
? We need not one car but many.
? We need not one house but many.
The MORE WE HAVE the better chance we have of not being bored with life. Right? No!!!
Illus: Solomon was like this; he had everything a man can think of. Some might say, “He had it all.” He had fame, education, power, material goods etc.
He also had 700 wives and 300 hundred concubines. He had everything a man could imagine; yet we hear him saying over and over again, “ALL IS VANITY AND VEXATION OF SPIRIT!”
One of the reasons for boredom today is an over-abundance of things that do not satisfy.
For example, there was a time when if you gave a child an apple, an orange, or a banana, he was thrilled and thought it was Christmas. Today, they have been given so much that you cannot give them anything big enough to make them thankful.
Illus: I can remember when I went to high school maybe 4 to 5 people would drive a car to school. But now I can drive by that same school and see it takes acres to accommodate all the student’s cars.
Today many have almost everything and they have become bored because these things do not satisfy. No matter how much people have they are always looking for something new.
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger talks about in the 60’s and 70’s when churches were heavy into the bus ministry.
? To get children to ride their buses the drivers would offer them a popsicle or cold drink.
? But as time went on the competition among the drivers from other churches got stronger so drivers started offering the children hot dogs or hamburgers.
? As the competition among the drivers to get children to ride their buses grew they would offer children baseball bats, gloves or basketballs.
? Still the competition became greater and some drivers were literally giving away Shetland ponies and colored televisions.
It got so bad that when a driver drove up to a bunch of kids before the children would put a foot on the bus they wanted to know what the driver was going to give them.
As a society of adults and children we have been given so much we have become over-stimulated with things that do not satisfy.
Listen, there might be some here today who have not reached that place yet, because you are still convinced the more you can get the better off you will be. But I am here to tell you…THINGS DO NOT SATISFY!!!
Over-abundance of things has played a major part in the BOREDOM we now face! People are weary of it all. But there is something else we need to consider and that is-
B. THERE IS AN UNDER-COMMITMENT.
Illus: Someone said, “Too many people live at the 20% level of commitment.” That is-
• Many are 20% committed to their marriage.
• Many are 20% committed to their work.
• Many are 20% committed to their families.
• Many are 20% committed to their careers.
• Many are 20% committed to their church.
• Many are 20% committed to Jesus Christ.
Because of this under-commitment, people are living lives of frustration. They feel they have no purpose in life. NO WONDER THEY ARE BORED. They do the same ole’ same ole’ and don’t seem to be satisfied.
Boredom is a serious problem for many folks. We have looked at THE CAUSE OF BOREDOM; now look at-
II. THE CURE FOR BOREDOM
Any time there is a cause, there has to be a cure! For example:
• There is something that CAUSES humans to have cancer. There is a CURE, but mankind has not yet been able to find the CURE.
• There are things that CAUSE BOREDOM, but many have not yet found the CURE.
I have a list of things in life that makes me think sometimes that life has come to a screeching halt! HAS IT? No! We have to understand in this world of abundance life is not always fun and games. Sometimes we have to do mundane things.
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger said he remembers when he was the school principal of a Christian School and it was required that before a student could be enrolled the parents had to attend a meeting with their child present. When Dr. Belger got through with all the things he wanted to talk to the parents about, he would ask the student if he had any questions. He said that almost every time the child would say, “Is it fun attending this school?” Dr. Belger said, “If you call work fun you are going to have a blast, but this is not an amusement park this is a place where you come to learn.”
? He told the prospective students they would be expected to respect the teachers and the fellow students.
? They would be expected to have a decent hair cut and wear decent clothing.
He warned that if they did not comply with the rules that they could be on the business end of one of the two paddles hanging on that wall (With the signed permission of the parents or legal guardians). The paddles were named:
? Skinny Minnie! (Small children)
? Love lifted me! (Older children)
They were warned that if parents did not give permission to use them they were expected to be in the school office within thirty minutes to administer the punishment. Those who did not wish to have their children disciplined, or to discipline them were to enroll their children in another school. He said, “That’s the way we operate here! Do you understand? Life is not all fun and games!!!”
You say, “Preacher, I’ll bet you did not have many students!”
You are wrong. That school grew from a handful of students the first year to almost two hundred within five years. And we very seldom had the discipline problems that most schools had because we taught them life often is filled with things that have to be done and they should feel good about doing a good job.
Listen parents, you are not doing your children any favor to let them think life is one big party…IT’S NOT! Many times in life there is hard work and it is not a bit of fun! Sometimes the routines we have to go through can be down right boring!
We have children today who have been given so much they are bored stiff unless they:
? Have music being pumped into their ears all the time!
? Have a cell phone to play with.
? Have a computer to play with.
They do not know how to deal with the routine of life unless they are having a good time. It bores them to death.
They have no idea what it is like to be in a room with no noise and have a quiet time with the Lord.
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger and wife were in the mountains with their grandson. Dr. Belger was sitting on his deck looking at the beautiful mountains and trees God created. His grandson came out and sat with him and looked bored because he did not any of his games to play with. Dr. Belger said to him, “Look at that eagle flying around that God made!” His response was, “Pa Pa, I am bored.” They took him to Cherokee, North Carolina and got on one of the chair lifts you ride to the top of the mountain. Here they were about probably 300 to 400 feet high over a creek and Dr. Belger said to him, “Are you having a good time?” Do you know what that kid said, “I am bored!” Here we are hanging over 300 to 400 feet over a creek by a cable which if it broke they would have plunged into the rocks below, probably killing them instantly - and he’s bored!
What do you have to do to make life exciting, or at least satisfying, for some people?
Illus: They remind me of the story of the man on death row who was waiting to be executed and he got the hiccups.
? The jailer asked, “Is there anything I can get you for the hiccups?”
? He said, “Yea, can you get something to scare me!!!”
We all need to understand that we sometimes have some mundane things in life that can make us feel life has come to a screeching halt. But that is life and we have to deal with it daily!
How can we overcome boredom? We overcome boredom by -
A. DOING SOMETHING.
Do something for the Lord. Do something for others. In Eccl. 9:10a, we read “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do…”
Illus: Eugene Peterson’s translation of that verse goes like this, “Whatever turns up, grab it and do it.”
Illus: An older preacher saw a young preacher and asked him if he was doing any preaching.
? He said, “No, he had not done any preaching lately!”
? The older pastor felt sorry for him and thought he would cheer him up by saying, “Maybe I can get you to come to my church and I will let you preach one service!”
? Do you know what this young preacher boy said? He said, “Well, I will have to pray about that!”
Pray about it, he just got through saying he had no opportunity to preach God’s Word and God’s Word says, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might…”
A lot of folks are claiming they want to do God’s will. Let me tell you how you can do God’s will, if something good needs to be done…DO IT!
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger said when the Lord called him to preach he did not have any preachers in his family and he wondered how he would ever be able to get into the ministry full-time. He went and talked with his pastor about this and his pastor told him, “Every time God opens a door for you to do something…STEP INTO IT!” That is exactly what He did and God continued to open door after door in is life.
Listen; there are some things you do not need to pray about. If the opportunity is there to serve the Lord you just do it! One of the chief reasons that many are bored is simply because people today have too much time on their hands---THEY NEED TO BE DOING SOMETHING.
Listen; if you are not DOING SOMETHING (that would please the Lord) you are giving the devil an open door into your life.
Illus: Remember King David? When he should have been on the battlefield he was on a rooftop lusting after Bathsheba and that was how he got into trouble.
Listen; if we do all the things that God puts before us we will not have time for the devil to put something in our lives. There are things you do not need to pray about it - if it is something you can do for the Lord…YOU SHOULD BE DOING IT!
Illus: There is always work to be done and we do not need to sit around praying about it, we just need to do it!
• Someone has to clear the table.
• Someone has to take out the trash.
• Someone has to pay the bills.
That’s what life is -- a whole bunch of small things that “someone” has to do.
Illus: Famed psychiatrist, Karl Menninger, was once asked, “What should you do if you feel a nervous breakdown coming on?”
? Everyone expected him to say, “See a psychiatrist,”
? But he fooled everyone and said, “Lock the door of your house, go across the railroad tracks, find someone in need and do something to help that person.”
Illus: You’ve probably seen the following quotation many times. It’s over 200 years old and comes originally from the Quakers. “I expect to pass through the world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”
One of the reasons that people are bored with life is because - THEY HAVE TOO MUCH TIME ON THEIR HANDS TO DO NOTHING!!!
WHY DO THEY HAVE TOO MUCH TIME ON THEIR HANDS?
One of the reasons is because of this age of appliances and machinery in which we live.
Illus: In the past, a farmer could go out into a field and if he worked all day long behind a mule and a plow, he might plow an acre of land. But today, farmers can get on their air-conditioned tractors and plow fifty acres in that same time.
Modern technology has provided us with a lot of spare time, and many of us are bored because we do not have anything to do with our time.
We overcome boredom by DOING SOMETHING.
But it is not enough to do something, we must…
B. DO SOMETHING WITH PASSION.
Eccl. 9:10says, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might...”
When God’s Word teaches we are to do it with MIGHT, God is saying that we need to PUT SOMETHING INTO IT!
Someone said, and it is so true, “If something is worth doing, it is worth doing RIGHT!”
Read the text again. It doesn’t say:
• “Do it with all your might if you feel like it.”
• “Do it with all your might if you enjoy it.”
• “Do it with all your might if they treat you right.”
We are to do it with OUR MIGHT and then leave everything else in God’s hands.
WHY SHOULD WE DO IT WITH OUR MIGHT?
Because we are doing it for JESUS!
Listen, nobody can run me from this church no matter what they might say or do to me. Why? Because I came because of Jesus! If it weren’t for Him I would not be here!!!
But let me give you two reasons why we should do what we do with all our might. Look at Eccl. 9:10 again for the last time. We read, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.”
Why should you do it to the best of your ability?
(1) Because there is coming a day when you will not be able to do what you can do now.
For example:
? You will be too feeble to attend church.
? You will be too feeble to teach a Sunday School Class.
? You will be too feeble to usher anymore. You will not be able to help anyone to find a seat. There is coming a day someone will have to help you into the church building.
? You won’t be able to put God’s tithes and your offerings into the offering plate.
Those days will be over!
There are Christians who are in heaven today who would love to come back and sit in the pew you are sitting in. And if they did come back, they would be heavily involved in the work of God, doing everything with all their might. We should do all we can because one day, if the Lord allows us to live long enough, we are going to be too feeble to do anything for the Lord.
But also because-
(2) We are going to be put in a grave. We will never have a chance to do anything for the Lord again.
In Eccl. 9:10c, we read, “…for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, IN THE GRAVE, whither thou goest.”
Illus: The old joke goes like this:
? Why is there a fence around the cemetery?
? Answer: Because people are dying to get in.
Do not think you are immortal! When you die, we’ll take your body, put you in a box, and we’ll put the box in the ground. We’re all going to do some serious “box time” before it’s over.
The point is; do whatever you’re going to do now. If you intend to do some good deed, do it now!
Illus: A little boy would go next door to play with his friend, and every time he went, he saw the little boy’s grandmother reading her Bible. The little boy said, “Every time I come over here she is reading her Bible. Why does she read her Bible so much?” The little boy said, “She is cramming for her final exam!!”
Conclusion:
Are you bored with life? Boredom is a warning sign that we are living for self when we ought to be living for God.
We have looked at:
I. THE CAUSE OF BOREDOM
II. THE CURE FOR BOREDOM
Jesus said in John 10:10, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
The abundance of all we need to keep from being bored can be found in the Lord Jesus. It cannot be found in things.
