Boredom might be gift.
Luke 5:16 NIV
16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
Following Jesus is boring.
I know this statement can be jarring, but trust me, I’m going somewhere with this.
I’d argue, we want boredom. But here’s the thing, we don’t know how to be bored.
You know that nostalgic feeling of doing nothing. I’m a millennial so yep, I’m about to reference the golden decade, the 90s. And yes, I might have a controversial take, but it is the best decade!
But there was one problem, I was bored…a lot! I’d yell “mom, I’m bored!” (in that classic annoying tone). But my Guatemalan mom would simply give me a chore to do. “No pues ponte a limpiar” (translates to “well then, get to cleaning”).
Why did I say anything?
But Saturday mornings were the dream! The one time I’d gladly wake up early. It’s 15 till 8, I run to get my lucky charms ready and look for the remote. Cartoons are about to play! Mom and dad don’t mind, they get to sleep in.
But it could only happen on Saturday mornings and it was glorious!
Here’s what tech and entertainment offer us today, that euphoric feeling of waking up early on Saturday. But not just on Saturdays, but every day. Whoah! If only the 7 year old me would have known that in 2026, we’ve rid the world of boredom!
Where has that left us? We’re chronically over-stimulated. We need sleeping aids and supplements to calm us down. Silent retreats seem to be all the rage these days. Yes, there are folks dishing out loads of cash to get quiet. I thought that was free?
But maybe we simply don't know how to be boring anymore.
No longer are Saturday mornings special. Why? Because we’ve had that feeling all week long. We’ve scrolled through hours of content, watched all of the news, heard all of the podcasts, listened to the latest tunes. There’s nothing left to do on Saturday.
It’s no wonder we feel trapped. We need that rush, that dopamine hit.
We don’t know how to be bored because we’re never quiet enough to experience it.
And yet Jesus, often, let me repeat that…often…got away. Not once in a while. Not once a week. But often got quiet and was with the Father.
It fueled His ministry.
He disciplined Himself. Was it boring? Yeah probably.
But I wonder, is this what our hearts long for? A rest from the noise. To get quiet enough to hear the voice of the one who spoke the world into existence.
You are not a robot. You cannot continue to run on empty looking for the noise to drown out the pain in your life.
So, what’s the solution?
Well, it’s certainly not more entertainment. Maybe it’s also not avoiding the boring.
Yet, we come to church expecting a level of entertainment, don’t we? We ask, why didn’t I feel anything? We might even say: “the pastor was so boring.” (I hope you never say that though ahah). But maybe, we need that.
In his book, Disappearing Church, Mark Sayers, a pastor and leading Christian thinker makes the argument: maybe we’re looking at church in the wrong light.
“Maybe the limitations of church, the discipline of regular attendance, the commitment it requires, also teach us to be Christlike. Maybe we need to reimagine church in our minds as a spiritual discipline, which teaches us the value of delayed gratification, of personally investing in change, of becoming more like Jesus.”
― Mark Sayers, Disappearing Church
What if it’s the ordinary that God will use to fool the wise. Not more money. Not more knowledge. But the quiet and “mundane” way of Jesus.
What if we could be the type of people that read their bibles?
Or that boring person that prays.
That church potluck? yeah go to have a meal with someone you wouldn’t otherwise have.
Boring worship? Yeah, pour your heart out. That boring sermon? Yes, lean into it. Serve a neighbor? Who does that anymore? Followers of Jesus do.
Well you might be asking, why have I called these things boring? Well, here’s the truth, most see these things as boring. I don’t have to do much to sell you on why a movie will be fun. But doing ordinary mundane things that Jesus calls us to do, it just doesn’t sell itself does it?
Here’s the beautiful thing: I have found more hope in reading my bible than in watching the news.
I have found more joy in sharing a meal than eating alone.
I have encountered God’s still small voice in quiet walks with the Holy Spirit than listening to another podcast.
So pardon me, I have grown to love the boring. The quiet and mundane.
Here’s what Paul encourages the Thessalonians to do:
1 Thessalonians 4:11 NIV
…and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands…
Instead, we’ve made it our ambition to know everyone’s business and to live a loud and “exciting” life.
Let’s take back the slow and mundane.
And here’s the thing, God wants to meet us there. He’s been waiting.
Will you go and meet with Him?
Here’s what I’ve encountered in the boredom of life: There’s more wonder in a bee’s face deep in a flower looking for pollen than our eyes buried deep in our phones looking for the next entertainment hit.
Go be a boring person.
Go and live for heaven's sake!
