Is it possible that one of the
problems facing our culture today, and particularly our kids and teens, is the
lack of boredom? You might be thinking, “this cannot be an issue that we need
to give attention to.” In fact, you might be thinking, “I thought getting rid
of boredom was a good thing!”
Let me explain.
Our culture today is on a frantic
pace to embrace new and exciting things. On top of this is parents filling up
their schedules with loads of extra curricular activities. If you throw in smart
phones, tablets, Netflix, Youtube and video games, kids today literally have
very little time to be bored with access to screens which demand their
attention and provides endless content that promises something new and
exciting.
However, maybe boredom isn’t
inherently bad or a thing to be avoided. As philosopher Blaise Pascal put it, “I have often said that the sole cause of
man’s unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room.”
Already we should clarify
something. The issue isn’t that kids are never bored. They are indeed. The
issue is that they are not being equipped to handle boredom or that it is ok to
be still, with nothing to do. The real problem created by technology is that it
makes it incredibly easy for parents and kids alike to avoid boredom like they
avoid getting bit by mosquitoes. Let’s face it, it is easier to turn the tv on
or let your child play with a phone than it is for them to embrace stillness.
In fact, the accessibility of entertainment seems to suggest that boredom is
inherently bad if there is such an easy remedy for it.
However, it may be possible that
losing the ability to embrace boredom is adding to a deeper sadness, even
hopelessness that the next generation faces. This sadness can even include what
is commonly referred to as depression. Consider this quote from Ed Welch:
“Perhaps it is because they have compressed sex, drugs, and money into
a shorter period of time and found them unsatisfying. With nothing new to
entertain them, they are dreading the decades to come. With no particular
purpose, their goal is to tolerate and survive a boring, goal-less existence
that will probably be less affluent than that of their parents.”
In other words, the younger
generation today is like a kid who finds all their Christmas gifts a week
before December 25 and has nothing left to be excited for on the big day. In the
effort to avoid the great malaise of boredom, the compression of pleasure is
actually limiting the younger generations ability to look out and imagine any
pleasures worth living for. The great irony here is that the effort to avoid
boredom is dooming the next generation to an existence of boredom. Yes, I
agree, this is a little depressing.
Thus, boredom may be useful. Let
me argue that only Christianity can convince us that boredom can be truly
useful.
Augustine is one of the greatest
minds in the Christian church and he suggested that joy is only possible when
our minds and hopes are fixed on something eternally wonderful and beautiful,
namely God. He said that “true joy is the
delight in the supreme beauty, goodness, and truth that are the attributes of
God, of which traces may be found in the good and beautiful things of the
world. “
C.S. Lewis is helpful on this
point as he has thought at length on the subject of joy. He found joy in the
observance and delight in the many little gifts of God that are manifested
throughout this life. It is important to note that Lewis and Augustine affirm
the same thing, namely, that joy cannot be found in the gifts of God if they
are separated from God. True joy, by contrast, is a manifestation of God’s
glorious character through creation, whether ice cream, frogs, trees, hot,
cold, water, sunshine, blue skies or rain. These things do not hold joy in
themselves. Only when they serve as windows into God’s glorious character is
joy produced!
In fact, these theologians are
merely restating something the Apostle Paul has revealed in Philippians 4:8
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever
is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if
there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
We can say at least three things
about thinking:
1. Thinking
is a learned ability
2. Thinking
is a human responsibility/discipline
3. Thinking
is necessary to knowing God
True thinking is central to being
human. More specifically, true thinking is necessary to see the glory of God in
a blue sky or a piece of music. In other words, thinking is the ability and
discipline which connects a human being to their creator, the source of endless
creativity, opportunity, delight, satisfaction, excellence, and
praiseworthiness.
Thinking on the part of a human
being is crucially important to them growing in their awareness of the
greatness of God and their relation to him. Thinking is key to a person’s
practical connection to God and all the possibilities and implications of what
it means to be made in his image. Psalm 46:10 says be still and know that I am God. We can say that knowing God is necessary for stillness. At
the same time, stillness is also necessary for knowing God.
If a child is endlessly crammed
with boredom-saving activities then they are essentially being trained to what
Julie Lowe warned about: mindlessness. Who would have thought that mindlessness
would be connected to the severe consequences of depression and hopelessness?
As Christian parents we have a
responsibility to teach our children to embrace their boredom, to steward it as
an opportunity for stillness that leads to thoughtfulness about the glories of
their creator. When this connection is made true joy can be experienced in the
endless possibilities of being made in the image of a God who is eternally
glorious.
May our kids learn the art of
thinking and observing. For the eternal joy of their souls in the glorious
character of God!
Pastor Kevin
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