The Cure For Boredom

  “He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.”  (Eccl.3:11)

         According to the old saying, “Curiosity killed the cat.” I have two things to say about that: One, I am not a cat; and two, they also say cats have nine lives. I happen to be of the school of thought that says curiosity is a precious gift from God, and like all His gifts should be sanctified…then milked for all it’s worth! And, as my title indicates, I think it’s the cure for boredom, because boredom is not a matter of where you are, or with whom, but rather, how mentally engaged you are in whatever environment you find yourself.

         As believers, our curiosity should find its prime fixation on the things of the Lord. This is a given, and why sitting under a good pastor who provokes you to think is such a joy. Profundity is inspiring, but provocation is more lasting. He need not be eloquent if he pushes my mind in gear. But this is only the beginning.  Just because one may not have had formal education, Biblical or otherwise, is no reason to live spiritually on being spoon-fed and church-coddled. Not while we have a live-in Tutor and possess an infallible Textbook. Have you never heard of “home-schooling”? J

I’ve heard my husband refer to Moses’ act of turning aside to contemplate the burning bush in the desert as an indication of “holy curiosity.” He could have walked on, from either fear of the unknown or reluctance to consider something different; but he chose instead to take the risk. And what a difference it made in his life! For here He met God in a way he never had before. And so will you.

But if you believe God is Lord of all, then your curiosity should not end there. It should extend to all of His creation. There is so much to see and so much to learn. We can’t always go everywhere, and meet everyone, but with modern technology, and the printed page, we can explore with our minds. Curiosity is nothing more than undivided attention, the desire to see all aspects of people and things. It lifts us beyond what we’ve seen or thought thus far and raises us to new horizons of the wonder of God’s Word and His world.

The verse in Ecclesiastes tells us that God has placed within every man and woman a curiosity about His world so that they might come to realize that it’s beyond human understanding. It will take the Creator God to explain it all. That curiosity can be ignored or explored; and it can become Holy Spirit ignited when a man or woman comes to know God personally through His Son, Jesus Christ.  

It was said of C.S. Lewis that he had a mind that was alive; and unless we are physically impaired, ours should be, too. If you’re bored, it’s because you’ve allowed your curiosity to become rusty. Wake it up; oil it up; and put it in gear…God has so much more to show you!