I once found myself frantically flipping through the television
channels, desperately trying to find something to alleviate my
boredom. To my dismay, the best show I could find was bowling. I
hate bowling! My real problem was not the pitiful selection of
programs on TV; my real problem was focusing on myself.
When I'm bored, I'm focusing on whether or not I'm having a
good time. I am preoccupied with my own interests. I desperately
search for something or someone to entertain me.
My bondage is multiplied if I try to fill the emptiness with
various self-indulgences. Whenever I seek only my own happiness
and fulfillment, I instead discover just how awful life can be.
God has called you and me to a higher purpose: to live as Jesus
lived. Jesus "did not come to be served, but to serve." (Matthew
2O:28) When I'm bored, however, the opposite is true of me. I seek
not to serve, but to be served. I'm here to be entertained.
God calls me to a complete change in orientation. To be free
from boredom, I must obey Philippians 2:3-4.
Consider others more important than yourselves.
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to
the interests of others.
Considering others as more important than myself is the way out
of my prison. It breaks the fixation I have with myself.
When I turn my attention to helping others, boredom becomes
a thing of the past. I discover a life of adventure and
significance.
