There’s this weird thing that happens. Sometimes I find myself a little bored with my faith. You’ve probably been there, too.
But here’s what I’ve realized: If I get bored with the Bible, it’s usually because I’m not living it. If I get bored with prayer, it’s usually because I have nothing meaningful to pray for. And If I get bored with church, it’s usually because I’ve turned into just a critical spectator.
Maybe it’s true for you too.
The next thing that almost always happen is that when I’m bored with my faith, I tend to fall into sin.
King David’s Problem and Ours
Remember that time King David stopped being a cool giant-slayer and turned into a sinful trainwreck? Well, the Bible gives us an interesting clue in the first verse of the chapter where the craziness begins.
It says: “In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem” (2 Samuel 11:1).
Yes, the king stayed back. And apparently, he got bored.
It says in verse two, “One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof, he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful.”
Then, David slept with Bathsheba, who was married to Uriah. But then Bathsheba got pregnant. So David tried to trick Uriah. And when that didn’t work, he sent Uriah to the front lines of the battle, to get murdered.
The great king sent Uriah (the husband of the woman he impregnated) to the front lines of the very battle that he should have been fighting. But instead of fighting, he was walking around the roof, bored out of his mind—missing out on the adventure; in the spring when kings go to war.
Now, I’m not saying that business is the way to holiness. I’ve tried that before and it does not wor.
However, I am saying that when you align your faith with your seasons of creativity or battle or adventure, then you will not be strolling around the roof of your palace, looking for something to do.
The Message of Jesus and the End of Boring Faith
In the book of Matthew, the writer records, “Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age’ (28:19).
For someone struggling with boredom, the godliest antidote would be the great commission—staying active in the Kingdom, getting your hands dirty with the Gospel or serving others and changing the world.
Lately, I have been intentionally making myself available to uncomfortable situations. Some are uncomfortable because I’m afraid and others are uncomfortable because I am unprepared. I’m booking time to preach inside of maximum security prisons. I am hanging out with people with serious disabilities. I am spending time with atheist friends. I am planning projects to serve the poorest communities.
Trust me, I don’t do it because I’m all saintly and above the rest—precisely the opposite.
I am compelled to get out of my selfish, materialistic and hungry-for-power ways. It’s because I am addicted to the worship of myself that I need the Great Commission.
Or else, I die of spiritual boredom.
Boredom is an emotional or psychological state experienced when someone is left without anything in particular to do, is uninterested in his or her surroundings or feels that a day or period is dull or tedious.
Boredom is wicked because we were created for adventure. And I’m not talking about thrill-seeking adventure—although I love that kind as well. I am talking about something to die for. A mission that means more than me. A calling and a purpose that demands that I stop being so self-serving.
What I’m really looking for is the cross of Jesus: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.”
It’s not about diminishing what you are currently doing, it’s about listening to His voice and stepping out of the boat.
Yes, I know that if I do nothing for God for the rest of my life He will love me as much as if I do everything He asks. But there is something about obedience that puts me in touch with His love for me and His love for others. I don’t have to do it. I get to do it.
