ManageYourEmotionsBook8.5x5.5_RevJULY.indd

10 Battling Boredom

“Meaningless! Meaningless”, says the Teacher,“Everything is meaningless!” (Ecclesiastes 12:8).

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W hat was meant to be a glowing introduction bombed when the host pastor said of a guest preacher, “Our speaker has never bored anyone with a long sermon. He always does it quickly.” 65 I go to great length to avoid boring anyone with a long sermon, or even a short one for that matter.That goes for my writing as well. Some might call boredom a condition rather than an emotion. Either way, it needs to be addressed. “One survey reports that 54 % of all Americans go to work primarily to escape the boredom of life at home.And 70 % of American teenagers say they are bored with school.” 66 Unfortunately, that spills over into the realm of religion as well.Take the man who was asked by a friend if he’d like to attend church with him on Sunday. His response: “I’ve been.” “Boredom is a combination of weariness, listlessness, apathy (see next chapter) and unconcern that causes a person to feel like doing nothing. Related words include dreariness, flatness, lethargic,

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