HOLY BOREDOM

“He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;     I will be exalted among the nations,

    I will be exalted in the earth.” – Psalm 46.10

“Holy Boredom”

By Stephen L. Dunn

Recently Dianne and I were blessed with the gift of four days at a rustic cabin in the mountains of Fulton County PA.  We were celebrating our 40^th Anniversary with some special time together.  It was also a chance to escape a house that was almost neck deep in boxes as we were in the midst of packing up our house of eleven years to move.  (Did you ever notice how much you collect and then forget you ever owned until you have to move it to a new location?)

Our hosts, Dennis and Jean, graciously introduced to its comfortable amenities—which included being at the end of a lane in an area where the very few neighbors are very friendly, but things are quiet enough that you are likely to see deer standing in the field right outside your front door or hear a car on a road over two miles away.  It had a microwave and dishwasher so no one needed to spend much time in the kitchen.  Comfortable furniture inside where it was air conditioned.  Windows strategically placed to see the beauties of nature in every direction.  A front porch simply to rock and relax.

It also had no television or internet.  The nearest place with Wiifi was a McDonalds eleven miles away.  If you are a communications junkie, you were isolated beyond your wildest imagination. If you were hooked on ESPN or Rizolli and Iles, you were simply out of luck.

And that also made it incredibly quiet.

It was a place where media junkie or someone who always required the background noise of a TV to function—it was a place to be bored out of your skull.  There were times that even the nothing I was doing got old and I would seek something new to do from a selection that leaned towards stasis.

Most contemporary Americans find silence unnerving and boredom tends to be the unforgiveable sin from the day we are born.  We fill our days with many things to do, too many things usually to be done sanely if accomplished at all.  We find meaning in activity and worship accumulation as a measure of accomplishment—which is the measure of our self-worth.

It is interesting then that we hear these words from our Creator, “Be still and know that I am God.”  God rarely shouts or engages a publication relations firm.  He chooses silence at times to deliver His most compelling messages.  He tends to wait until we are ready to listen.

Busyness is the enemy of the soul because we rarely stop to hear God at all.

Perhaps a little holy boredom is God’s way of getting our attention.  That is, if we don’t rush to escape that boredom.

It’s a lesson that I, as a not-so-recovering workaholic, am trying to learn.

© 2012 BY STEPHEN L DUNN

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WHATEVER

 This post originally appeared in another blog of mine called EYES WIDE OPEN in October 2010.

Reading: Luke 9.62

Last week I heard someone say that “we live in the culture of whatever.”  Rather than make a decision we often say “whatever.”  Instead of engaging in conflict we simply announce “whatever!” and the walk away. That response is terribly annoying to anyone who is taking something seriously.  It is generally not very helpful.  Even now someone has read the previous statement and thought, “Whatever!”


People often describe this as fatalism. You really have no control over something and rather than become emotionally invested in the outcome, you shrug off the whole business by saying “Whatever!”

I don’t agree with this assessment. It is something far more problematic to our culture.  When faced with a choice or a challenge, we chose “whatever” instead of the discipline of intentionality and the boundaries of accountability.  In a culture that believes freedom means to do what I want when I want to do it and not have someone judging my choices, intentionality and accountability are unwelcome virtues.

Christians are sometimes guilty of embracing the culture of  whatever hiding their lack of planning or their lack of going deeper. They don’t say “whatever” but they claim that they are following the Spirit. It’s as if God has no plan, no design, no specifically desired outcomes.  In this context, God gets blamed for a whole bunch of nonsense.  It’s hard to find a whatever mentality in Jesus’ words, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Counting the cost says there is a cost worth paying. Something that has a cost implies intrinsic value. Having a value means that it can also be squandered.

“Whatever” devalues both the object of value, but it also devalues the person making the statement.  Whatever says, “I don’t matter, so whatever happens must be permitted to happen.”

Helen Keller’s parents, upon her birth with her blindness and other handicaps did not say, “Whatever.”  The Quakers and others who founded and operated the Underground Railroad before the Civil War did not simply look at the horrid plight of the Negro in the South and blithely declare, “Whatever.”  We did not watch the unfolding tragedy following last January’s earthquake and turn aside our eyes and hearts with “whatever.”

John F. Kennedy once famously declared, “Some people look at thinks as they are and say “why?” I look at things as they could be and say, ‘Why not?’ Note – not, whatever.  People often ask why to lament their state instead of initiating change. The why question can be a form of whatever if we do not use what we learn to change what is.

Christians understand that everything they do has eternal significance and the potential for life-changing impact.  As authentic disciples we would never embrace the uncaring, self-centered apathy of whatever!

(C) 2010 by Stephen L Dunn

 

GOD IS OUT OF OUR SIGHT, OUT OF OUR MIND

We live in a world where God is out of  our sight and out of our minds. Too many persons, including many Christians, live as if there is no God or as if He is irrelevant to their daily existence. Craig Groeschel calls the latter “Christian atheists,” persons who say they believe in God but live as if they didn’t.

Why is this the case? I don’t think it is because the true atheists have won us over. In fact, since the beginning of  the postmodern era, there are very few true atheists left. Postmodernism admits that man is a spiritual creature and most atheist’s arguments fall of deaf ears.
I don’t think it’s because God has failed to make Himself known. Nor that He Himself is disinterested in His planet and its inhabitants.
I do think it is because most of us are deists at heart and agnostics in practice.  Deism is the classic idea of the “clockwork God” who sets the world into motion and then steps away to let humanity work things out. God is there, but does not intervene in human events. Agnosticism is the belief that although God probably exists, He is basically irrelevant to human life. Sort of like your grandfather suffering from dementia and confined to a nursing home.

Isaiah calls this state of affairs and its inhabitants “people living in deep darkness.”

Advent is the season when we acknowledge that we are people living in darkness. In fact, if we manage a little honest reflection in between mad dashes to the mall for yet one more present, we admit we are in deep darkness.

That deep darkness confines generosity and good will to a few weeks before December 25.

It excuses our consumption and materialism while neighbors still starve and others have nothing.

It tolerates our intolerance of people not like us and blunts any compassion under the excuse of “being practical or realistic.”

Deep darkness keeps us living as if we are accountable to no one except ourselves, and then justifies our making an exception to all of our sinful choices.
But in all of this, we are not without hope. 

“The people living in deep darkness have seen a great light … for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given … and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9.2-6)

The light is in the world.
The light is on.
The time has come for us to open our eyes and see the light.

(C) 2010 by Stephen L Dunn

BIBLES, IPODS, CELL PHONES

"Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." - Luke 5.16

Recently in our church we had to begin asking people to turn off their cell phones and stop texting during worship. Those cell phones are everywhere, and for some are a vital, necessary communication tool. (Persons who are "on call" are simply asked to set their phones on vibrate and to step from the sanctuary before answering and talking). The text feature is often a distraction for the worshiper (and those worshiping nearby), the distraction being multiplied when the text recipient is also in the sanctuary? ("Is this sermon boring or what?")

In worship, this technology can actually be a hindrance to worship. Technology has a wonderful way of keeping us connected: but sometimes we need to be disconnected. Worship is one of those times when we need to focus on God. Our technology keeps stealing our focus if we are not careful and disciplined.

But technology, when dedicated to sharing the Gospel and connecting people to Christ and His Church, can be a tremendous asset. ("I AM PRAYING 4 U") We can add Bible study apps to our iphones. We can pass along You Tube Videos that illustrate the Gospel message. We can call people or text them with invitations to be a part of what God is doing. We can connect with people far away or less accessible to remind them that they are a part of the body of Christ. Web cams and computers have been one of the most precious assets to connect missionaries, for example, in "real time" to their prayer partners and supporters. Powerpoint and video has added a powerful visual dimension to preaching and worship. Cell phones allow pastors not to be tied to their offices, freeing them to be out in the community ministering.

Like everything else in Creation, when it is dedicated to God's Purposes, it can be not only good but can bring glory to God. Just make sure your technology is not your master, but that it is dedicated to Your Master.

CLASSIC CAR

"Earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered unto the saints." - Jude 3

I love classic cars. There is something fascinating about these road warriors. There was a time they owned the road--providing transportation to grandmas, gangsters, doctors making house calls, families taking a Sunday drive, salesmen trying to ply their wares. They have a uniqueness and an elegance that stands out in the box-like family vehicles, the monster trucks and sporty SUVs, and the lookalike family cars occupying the road today. Some of them were short-lived in popularity. They bore names that today have little meaning - but they are really neat.

Unfortunately today, you have to be very careful with these cars. Their "age" and uniqueness put them at great risk on the high-speed highways of today. You even have to ration the amount of road miles because their parts are no longer being produced.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is very ancient. It has a beauty in its original form that makes it even more precious today with the trendy and sometimes indistinguishable religious imitators.

Fortunately, the gospel wears well on today's highways in today's world. It is not fragile, needing protection. It is robust, needing faithfulness. The gospel is not intended to be kept in a warehouse as a remnant of other times. It is intended to engage the world where the rubber meets the road.

A classic car may have been built well, but only a few people have the means and opportunity to drive it. The gospel today is for everyone--it is durable for eternity.

This devotional is published on behalf of the Church of God of Landisville and its friends (C) by Stephen L Dunn All rights reserved.