Boredom - contrary to how God made us

We are thrill seekers and pleasure pursuers; that's how God made us. And we will pursue pleasure. The only question is where it will be found and how this desire will be satisfied. Boredom will not suffice. We need to purposefully pursue pleasure in God or boredom will eventually end up with us recklessly realizing our relish of pleasure in the deceitful destination of debauchery or being summoned by the scintillating siren's song of sin. Consider the following quote by Sam Storms from his book Pleasures Evermore (Storms, C. Samuel. Pleasures Evermore: the Life-changing Power of Enjoying God. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2000. Print)


"... one of the most serious threats to the human spirit is boredom. Boredom is the breeding ground for wickedness. Bored people are easy targets of the flesh and the Devil. It is like putting a bull ’s-eye on your chest with a sign: “Tempt me. I’m easy!” Why? Because boredom is contrary to the natural, God-given impulse for fascination, excitement, pleasure, and exhilaration. There are only three possible reactions to boredom:

• You wither and die emotionally.
• You wither and die physically (suicide).
• You madly rush to whatever extreme and extravagant thrill you can find to replace your misery with pleasure, whether it be pornography, adultery, drugs, or fantasies of fame and power.

This is why people are so prone to an addictive lifestyle. Many people who fall into sinful addictions are people who were once terminally bored. The reason why addictions are so powerful is that they tap into that place in our hearts that was made for transcendent communion and spiritual romance. These addictive habits either dull and deaden our yearnings for a .satisfaction we fear we’ll never find or they provide an alternative counterfeit fulfillment that we think will bring long-term happiness, counterfeits like cocaine, overeating, illicit affairs, busyness, efficiency, image, or obsession with physical beauty. They all find their power in the inescapable yearning of the human heart to be fascinated and pleased and enthralled. Our hearts will invariably lead us either to the fleeting pleasures of addiction or to God." (51)