Are Christians boring?


"Many people look at the Christian life as a sort of detour away from real life. They think that if you are a Christian, you have to give up all the things about life that are truly enjoyable and exciting." Ray Stedman

Someone asked me the other day if I drank alcohol. I said rarely. The response blew me a away — "You must be very boring". 

And that sums up the commen view of Christians, they must be really boring. 

I was taken by surprise as I have never considered myself boring, I love laughing and having fun. I enjoy the company of others and going out for dinner. Love attending my bookclub monthly, have coffee with friends.  I am outgoing and enjoy life and I didn't think I was boring at all. 

The truth is that Christian life is where we find true joy and lasting peace, hope and contentment. These things, like all good and perfect things, come from God (James 1:17). The difficulty is that, if you’re not a believer in Christ, you truly don’t know what you’re missing.

Many none believers (particularly the young) believe that the only way they will find happiness and contentment is by focusing all their energy on their own needs and desires often through travel, buying lots of material goods (for girls it is often the latest fashions) and socialising with mates (partying, drinking, eating out) and having fun. When they meet Christians who have found contentment and joy through Christ, they simply can’t understand and think we all must be boring. The problem is, the things of this world are temporary and can never truly satisfy which is why so many young people change jobs, struggle with study and just seem so restless and uncertain of their future. 

The Bible tells us that sowing to please our sinful nature will surely lead to destruction (For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. Galatians 6:8). King Solomon, the wisest and richest person who ever lived, had everything a person could possibly want. He said, “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure” (Ecclesiastes 2:10). Solomon had it all, but he concluded that it was “meaningless” and likened it to “chasing after the wind” (v. 11). In other words, he had everything this world had to offer, and he was bored.

Some people assume that being a Christian is boring because they’ve heard that Christians have to give up all the “fun” things in life. It’s true that Christians give up some things, but it’s not the fun or laughter. Christians give up their sin, their self-destructive behaviour, their addictions, their negative attitudes and their ignorance of God. 

However, always searching for fun will lead to disappointment. Life is not full of fun — we all have to wait at the traffic lights, queue at the grocery store, pay bills, be frugal, recover from illness, discipline children and none of these things are fun or exciting. My definition of fun may not be yours — sitting quietly with a book reading is fun, sewing is fun, playing with my cats is fun—to others it might appear boring. 

I grew up in a Christian household where we had wonderful family gatherings, especially for significant birthdays, Christmas, Boxing Day and Australia Day. However, these events contained no alcohol, no crude language, no loud music, but they were full to the brim with laughter, joy and fun activities (my aunt was great at making up games for us all to play). I use to love these family dinners, picnic, tennis parties, even the long hikes we went on and never once did I even think we were all dull, because we weren’t. 

However, I do think some Christians just don’t seem joyful enough, they like to appear serious to demonstrate that they have removed all sin from their lives and that they are extra Godly men and women — but sadly they have also removed joy from their life.  That isn’t Christian living at all, God wants us to be happy, He wants us to be ALWAYS JOYFUL — we need to have a smile on our face, we should be happy, our homes should be full of laughter, we should be women who love to reach out and help others, to entertain and bring joy. When people see us, they see a Christian that glows and full of joy and thanksgiving. 

A growing, committed Christian will find that life is never boring. There’s always another step of faith to take, another relationship to build, another person to serve.


Comments

  1. Your family gatherings sound wonderful. There is a lot of wholesome fun to be found that leaves us with happy memories and a clear conscience!

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  2. You are NOT boring! You are fun, encouraging and a wonderful friend!!!! ❤ It is all a matter of priorities - temporary or eternal...

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    1. Thankyou - I never thought I was and those people who think I am, aren't my friends anyway!!

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  3. Maybe by 'boring' they meant that you didn't have to worry about someone making unwanted advances, or having a hangover, or how to get home without killing yourself, your friends or some innocent person. Maybe they meant you didn't have the excitement of having a drink sloshed on you, or having to dodge vomit, or find a clean place to use the toilet. Maybe they just meant a little cocktail home party with friends, but that is just as exciting without the booze. Much better to be thought 'boring'.

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    1. I am very happy to give all those things a miss. Been drunk once in my life when I was young and I can tell that I will never do it again - I felt TERRIBLE for so long :(

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