Is “Boredom” The Reason? A Second Part To “More Complicated Than A Demand For Change And Excitement”

 


I was led to do a follow up to a previous blogpost called More Complicated Than A Demand For Change And Excitement [1] which covered a column published on the WND website called Why The Left Hates Conservatism, written by columnist and online video producer Dennis Prager and the reason why for this follow up or,  if you would like, a second part, is because Prager touched on a reason for why he believes people, especially those of the younger generations, gravitate towards leftism that I did not get to adequately address in my last blogpost but still felt the need to address more adequately which is the reason for the writing of this particular post and one reason he gives for why “leftism” might have such an appeal to many is because they are “bored.” [2] They don’t know what to do with themselves.
 
In a way, I can also relate to this myself as part of the reason for why I used to believe in some of the things I did before surrendering myself to Jesus and one of the things that I used to believe in was the theory of evolution and not only because I felt no reason to question it, but also in part because the thought of things remaining the same would make for a boring world and a boring universe but the thought of lifeforms changing over time had kept me wondering and speculating as to what lifeforms might take the place of the ones presently in existence and what they might look like.
 
But the thought of lifeforms never changing was not the only thing I found boring.  I viewed history, for the most part, to be boring and never understood what anything men did five-hundred or two-thousand years ago had anything to do with today. 
 
I found math to be boring because I never understood its use and it was never and still has never been my best subject either.
 
I found even science, for the most part, to be boring because I never understood its purpose and the only science that interested me had to do with animals no longer living. 
 
And I never had any real appreciation for the arts and entertainment of past generations (aside from mostly sci-fi/fantasy and a few westerns)
 
I also perceived the idea of being involved in a church and religious activity to be boring and not only that, but needlessly limiting and of no use to me and yet at the same time, I had no solid or sure direction in life because I had no real sense of purpose.  I did have a Bible, but until my early teenage years, I was given no reason to take any time to read it but there did come a time, and I have no real way of actually describing it, when I was confronted with something which I knew I could not just simply leave to chance nor had any power against and it was at that time that I did find a reason to seek out God in that time of need, but I also knew that if I were to expect any favors from Him, I would have to be the best I could be for Him and so, I began to, over time, start reading a Bible that I had in my room.  I was never raised in the church nor brought up to make God a central part of my life.  I believed in God, but I viewed Him as being distant and largely uninvolved in human affairs, leaving everything to be left mostly to chance.
 
And yet in a household not considered very religious, by the grace of God, I possessed a children’s Bible that until the age of fifteen, I had no reason to open but it was in the summer of 1995 that I was confronted with not a force seen, but rather one unseen (call it a sickness if you’d like. It threatened to consume me like any other) and which I knew no earthly thing could ever deliver me, but from which only a merciful and loving God could deliver me and it was in that day I began to call upon Him and to read His Word.  It was then I began to take much thought for the things of eternity and the very course of my life.  It was then I learned that God was not simply watching us from a distance, but was actively involved in the affairs of men and wanted to be actively involved in even my own life.  It was then I gained a desire to do that which was pleasing in the eyes of God and to abide in His truth and not just because I was concerned about where I might spend eternity if I did not, but out of a sincere love for the God who offered His love and His mercy to me because if there was a God who loved me and was willing to forgive all of my sins, transgressions, every shortcoming, every misstep, every flaw and fault, and every moment of weakness, then that would be a God to whom I could devote myself to and serve for the rest of my life, but even as I attempted to live rightly, I still did find myself falling short in the eyes of God in some form or fashion and I knew that my own efforts to live a godly live would never be enough, but that it would take grace and mercy for me to be in a right standing with my Creator and so I learned to rely not on my goodness, but upon His goodness and mercy and then in June of 1996, I was invited to church by a school bus driver who just so happened to be the Pastor of the very church to which I was invited and so that very Sunday, the Gospel was explained to me in such a way that I knew that I, no matter how hard I might try to live rightly in the eyes of God, that I still could have unforgiven sin, including sin of which I was unaware, and rather than take a chance of entering into eternity at any given moment with unforgiven sin, I then asked Jesus Christ to forgive me of my sins, to come into my heart, and to be my Savior and Lord of my life.
 
Now, my conversion was not as dramatic as that of some others but a change did take place in me over time.  I began to feel convictions over things that I had never felt a conviction over before.  I felt in me a sense of purpose that I had never felt before.  I saw the hand of God at work not only in my own life, but I began to take an interest in subject matters in which I had never once taken interest because the more I saw God at work in them, the more relevant they became to me. I began to develop an appreciation for things that I never once had before, I became more aware of unseen forces (both good and evil) at work around me, and the lies that I had once taken for truth were undone and exposed for what they were: lies, falsehoods, and deceits.  You could say that my repentance and receiving Jesus as Savior and Lord began the process of undoing the systemic lies with which academia, the media, and the entertainment industry had once poisoned my mind.
 
My walk with Christ Jesus has been anything but “boring” but, if you would like, it has been more of an adventure and a journey through this present life than I ever thought it would have been as I have been taken down paths that I never intended to go and along with newfound purpose, hope, peace, and joy, I have also been met with my share of challenges from both adversities seen and unseen and things have not always turned out the way I had wanted or hoped they would, but God has guided me every step of the way and when I look back at my life before I gave myself to Jesus, it was very dull and “boring” in comparison to my walk with the Lord, and when I observe those things in which God does not appear to have a part, they are much less intriguing and much less exciting than those things in which God is included.
 
Ask any follower of Christ what Jesus has done for them and how He has changed their lives, and you will receive a multitude of different and fascinating stories with some being more dramatic than others and all will confess that they are still a work in progress.
 
If people gravitate towards “leftism” because they are bored, it is because they find a sense of purpose in it that they feel takes away their boredom but if “boredom” rather than “personal conviction” drives them to embrace the ideology, then the excitement of it will eventually wear off and they will demand something new, or when the confidence of their professed convictions are challenged and they are met with opposition and adversity that puts their faith in their preferred ideology to the test, they may just simply melt away, scatter, and abandon the cause to which they profess to hold because they never really at heart embraced it and therefore, it is not “the bored” that we should be the most concerned about but rather, it is those who embrace an ideology out of personal conviction who pose the greatest threat and are the most dangerous as they will fight to the death for their ideology and are even willing to die trying to suppress anything that challenges the philosophy that they have embraced and for they who hold to an ideology out of personal conviction, something more than a mere search for excitement or even personal material or financial gain drives them to embrace “leftism” and what drives them is not only a sincere, albeit a misguided belief in the ideology, but also an enmity towards and an intense hatred of other ideologies, philosophies, doctrines, virtues, and creeds including capitalism, Constitutionalism, any religion that teaches that we are all created by a God or higher power to whom we must submit ourselves and who is our supreme moral and lawgiver, who is actively involved in the affairs of men, and before whom we must give an account one day, and anything else for that matter that they blame or are led to blame for perceived injustices and evils that they have witnessed, experienced firsthand, or, even if not personally affected, have received word of.
 
The appeal of “leftism” is, to simply put it, promises to remedy political, economic, and social injustices and so those who somehow feel betrayed, disenfranchised, and disillusioned with everything in which they had previously placed their trust and therefore will embrace that which offers the changes for which they are longing in order to attain the justice, peace, security, prosperity, and sense of purpose that they think “leftism” will provide them that they don’t believe anything else has been able to do or will be able to.
 
And not only does the appeal of “leftism” consist of promises that those who are drawn to it think it will deliver on, but it is also presented to the multitudes in such a way so as to address the very current issues of which they deem to be a concern and may even either affect them in some way or will come to affect them and plays upon the discontent with the current political, economic, and even religious establishments and even the fears of supposed impending disasters which may or may not ever come to pass.
 
The reason why “leftism” succeeds in the hearts and minds of people is it presents a relevance to itself that adherents to Christianity and “conservatism” have failed to present either because they have never felt they had to or they don’t know how to and when parents, clergy, and even politicians are faced with the challenging arguments and hard questions, they find themselves unable to give satisfying answers and counter-arguments because they were never prepared to defend what it is that they profess to believe in nor have most been able to tap into the discontent of many the way the propagators of “leftism” have been able and worse yet, many professing Christians and conservatives, when asked to define what it is they believe in and to give an answer for why they believe in what they believe, they find themselves unable to give the answers that they should be able to give.
 
The most notable “conservative” who has shown himself to be able to tap into the discontent of the populace has been Donald Trump which propelled him into a presidency for one term and may very well once again for a second and regardless of whether you look upon the man favorably or not, it is an undeniable fact that if Christians and conservatives are to have any hope of winning hearts, minds, and ultimately, souls over those respective creeds, they must be able to tap into the discontent of those whom they seek.
 
It must also be understood that emotional appeals and experiential testimonies will not be enough either but both Christianity and conservatism must also be presented as reasonable and logical and the defense for both must be presented in a logical and a reasonable fashion as can be given and as often as can possibly be done, even supported by factual evidences in favor of both and another thing that must be done is that Christians and conservatives must not act indifferent or dismissive to the present concerns of the day and especially the fears and concerns of the upcoming generations but must show that the fears and concerns of those tempted to embrace “leftism” do indeed matter to us and to them whom we hope to persuade to embrace the Christian faith and with it, a conservative philosophy, we must show the Christian/conservative solutions to those fears and concerns that “leftism” promises to address to be better than what “leftism” offers but that also requires us to show that the remedy that “leftism” offers is worse than the diseases they claim they can cure and that the remedies that Christianity and conservatism offer remedies that are better able to address the ills or perceived ills that “leftism” promises to address.
 
Furthermore, Christians and conservatives must also be able to show that their faith and doctrine offer a sense of purpose and significance to any willing to embrace them as that is another thing that “leftism” promises: Purpose and significance and there are a lot of people out there searching for purpose and significance in this present life, but sadly are looking for that sense of purpose in all the wrong places, just like they are looking for love in all the wrong places.
 
Christians and conservatives need to be able to make those whom they hope to reach in the name of their respective cause to feel loved and valued and make it known to them that they are loved and valued for when people know that they are loved and valued and for the reasons for which they ought to be loved and valued, only then might they find the sense of significance and purpose that they long for.
 
For when men find significance and purpose, they are no longer “bored” but will every day commit themselves to the very thing in which they find that very purpose be it in right-wing causes or left-wing causes, in nationalism or globalism, in the worship and service of a God or to an ideology that excludes the belief in any deity or anything having to do with the supernatural, in that which is good or in that which is evil depending on where their hearts truly lie.
 
For there is an age-long conflict between the forces of good and evil that has been raging even before the creation of this universe which, for most of its duration, has been a battle for the hearts, minds, and souls of every man, woman, and child and in which there can be no neutral ground.  You will be for one side against the other or else the other way around and those who join either side out of “boredom” or for personal gain will be the first to capitulate or flee the field of battle when they find nothing to gain for themselves or when the excitement they are seeking becomes too much for them to bear but it will be those of sincere conviction and the most steadfast in their service to either side who will fight it out to the very finish, even laying down their lives for the respective side they choose to serve.
 
Both sides promise a reward to their respective servants who remain faithful to the end even unto death itself, but only one side will make good on its promise for the promises of one side will be fulfilled while the promises of the other side will prove worthless.  One side will be faithful in keeping its promises while the other side will make promises that it either cannot keep or has no intention of keeping whatsoever which is why it is so vital important that each and every one of us chooses the right side and for the right reasons because what side you choose in the age-long war and why you choose that side is going to have very serious ramifications for the direction your life takes, the choices and decisions you make, how you handle the challenges in life that are thrown at you, and most importantly, where you will be spending your next life after you depart this present life.
 
The age-long conflict is not just a political one.  It is not an economic one. It is not a racial one. It is not a war between genders, generations, or economic classes, and it is not merely even a moral war. This war goes far deeper than that of which the rest are but outward manifestations and affects of the unseen battles waged for the age-long war is a spiritual warfare that began not on this earth, but in the Kingdom of Heaven when a certain angel, a guardian of the cherub, to be more specific who served at the throne of God Almighty, was lifted up in his own pride and conceit and thought he could make himself equal with God and acquire that which was reserved for God alone who made all things and as a consequence was cast from his position. (Is. 14:11-21, Ezek. 28:12-19)
 
That angel who attempted to exalt himself against his Creator was called Lucifer who, after his fall, became better known as Satan or the Devil.
 
And when God created the heavens and the earth, there was no evil in them, nor death, or decay, nor any pain, grief, sorrow, hardship, suffering, or misery of any sort, for it was created to be a world filled with contentment, happiness, peace, unity, and harmony to be shared between God, man, and nature.
 
But Satan, being that fallen angel, crept into that good and wonderful world and ruined it when he caused the first man Adam and the first woman Eve who was the wife of Adam, to do something that they were warned by God not to do.  In the very place where God had established Adam and his wife Eve, there were two trees; one being the tree of life which would have enabled Adam and Eve to live forever and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Gen. 2:9)
 
Of every tree, Adam and Eve were allowed to eat the fruit from, including the tree of life, but the tree that they were forbidden to eat the fruit thereof was the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil being warned that in the day that they ate that fruit, they would surely die (Gen. 2:16-17, 3:3) but Satan, in the form of a serpent, falsely assuring them that they would not surely die from eating that fruit but that it would instead advance them to more superior state caused them to do the very thing that God had commanded them not to do (Gen. 3:4-6) and rather than bring them greater enhancement, they were brought down to an inferior state in which they felt shame (Gen. 3:7) and rather than being spared the penalty of death, the sentence of death was brought upon them as they were warned (Gen. 3:19) and furthermore, they would never be able to eat from the tree of life that would have enabled them to live forever. (Gen. 3:22-24)
 
But the sentence of death did not stop with Adam and Eve.  For in the day that they ate of that forbidden fruit, a corrupting condition called sin entered into them and changed their inward person into that which was contrary to what God had created man to be by turning the nature of man from that which was inherently good into a nature that is inherently corrupt and evil and it by this inherent corruption that the divinely inspired Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16) call sin and it is sin by which Adam and Eve were subjugated to the sentence of death and the sin that entered into them was then inherited by all of mankind since that day because it is from Adam and Eve that we descend and because we are their descendants we have inherited within ourselves also the sin that entered into them and therefore we are all born into sin and in some form or fashion all of us sin (Rom. 5:12) and as a consequence we all die just as Adam and his wife Eve have died because as it is written, the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23) but the consequences of sin do not stop with death, but because of sin, a curse is brought upon the entire creation which is why it is written that the entire creation groans and travails in pain to this day. (Rom. 8:19-22)
 
That being said, sin is not only responsible for bringing death to humanity, but it has also caused death and decay to reign over all of creation and brought upon it every kind of discord, dysfunction, disorder, misery, hardship, sorrow, grief, evil, and darkness that there ever has been and ever could be and it is for this reason that we watch the beauty of this world continue to fade, why plants and animals are going extinct, why both man and animal are subjugated to old age, disease, and famine, and why there are wars, violence, and poverty and so forth and it is only going to get worse as the sin and evil of this world increases.
 
By a lie, and the first lie ever known to man, did Satan cause Adam and Eve to do the thing that caused sin to enter into them.
By a lie did Satan bring death to Adam and Eve through sin and also to all of mankind by the sin that entered into Adam and Eve and from them was passed down to all of mankind since Adam and Eve are the ancestors of all people.
By a lie did Satan bring ruin to all of creation.
By a lie did Satan usurp the dominion over the earth that was given to man (Gen. 1:26) and claim lordship over the earth (Mt. 4:8-9, Lk. 4:6-7) which is why he is called the father of lies and a murderer, (Jn. 8:44) the thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy, (Jn. 10:10) and because of the lordship he has claimed over the earth, why he is called the prince of this world. (Jn. 12:31, 16:11)
 
And it was in that day when Satan caused Adam and Eve to commit that one act of disobedience that the age-long war between God and Satan became a war for the hearts, minds, and souls of men.
 
One side desires reconciliation and friendship with our souls.  And one side seeks the destruction of our souls and the side that desires reconciliation and friendship with our souls has provided us redemption and offers it to us continuously and every day speaks to our hearts, our conscience, our souls, and tries to reason with us and open our eyes and understanding for the need of redemption while the other side does everything in its power to blind those whom it holds captive to the need of redemption and everything it can to hide and suppress anything that might lead the captive soul to recognize the darkness that they are in and the judgment in which they are in danger of facing to embrace the redemption that will lead them out of the darkness of the side that holds them captive and delivered from the judgment that is to come because there is coming a day when the sin and evil of this world is going to reach a measure that will invite divine judgment which will not only require the elimination of all that is evil and sinful, but also the elimination of those who are still in their sins because a God who is good and holy cannot allow evil to abide forever nor can He allow that which is evil or sin to dwell directly in His presence or in His Kingdom which is without sin and in which evil has no part because sin is not merely confined or defined by our outward performance or even by what comes out of our mouths, but it is the inward corruption of our nature which causes us to do by nature that which is contrary to how God created us to be which is why it is written that we are not defiled by that which is outward but by that which is within us of which the outward becomes the result. (Mt. 15:11, 18-20)
 
That does not mean, however, that we are not capable of being a morally upright person or that our sinful nature renders incapable of doing good things, but our goodness, because sin, which is ever present within us, causes our goodness, even at its best, to fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23) which is moral perfection and if God is perfectly good, then nothing less can be expected of any of us because sin taints, distorts, corrupts, twists, and even destroys more than we can possibly comprehend and therefore nothing sinful, including those who are in their sin, can ever be admitted into Heaven by their own merit which, because of sin, will always be insufficient lest Heaven be defiled by the taint of sin just as the earth has been defiled for it is not just the outward performance, acts, behavior, deeds, or even the words that come out of our mouth that are taken into account, but also the very thoughts, motives, and attitudes of the inward person as well and because sin causes our own merit to fail us, the only way we can escape eternal damnation is by an unfailing merit and a merit that does not come from within us, but a merit that comes from another and it is a merit of perfection that we ourselves do not possess but is only possessed of our Creator who, in His love for us, is not willing that any should perish but that all would come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9) which is why the Son of God who has always been with God and is Himself God (Jn. 1:1) came into the world to take upon Himself the demanded penalty for sin on our behalf so that we, who are morally flawed and imperfect, may be saved in Him who is perfect for it was He, being without sin (2 Cor. 5:21) who was able to serve as that needed and required perfect and unblemished sacrifice (Heb. 7:26-27) needed to take away the sins of the world and the man who came to us as God incarnate (Jn. 1:14) to take away the sins of the world is Jesus Christ, who for our sakes, lovingly offered Himself up as that perfect sacrifice on our behalf through His death and the shedding of His blood upon the cross on which He was crucified thereby satisfying in His death the required penalty for sin thereby purchasing redemption on our behalf and after having died for our sins was then raised again from the dead so that we may by our faith in Him for the forgiveness of sins and the saving of our souls from what would otherwise be an everlasting damnation filled with an unrelenting torment beyond imagining, may be justified in Him (Rom. 4:25) so that if we, in faith and in sincere repentance, will call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, may be saved (Rom. 10:13) and with salvation, we become a new person in the Lord Jesus, (2 Cor. 5:17) no longer taking pleasure in those things that are evil and displeasing in the sight of the Lord, but in that which is good, right, and pleasing in His sight,
no longer desiring to walk in the lies of this present world, but only in the truth that comes from Christ Almighty, no longer placing our hopes in the things of this present world, but looking forward to that new and better world to come, (Rev. 21-22)
no longer relying on worldly resources, men, or even our own power, abilities, skills, and wisdom for our needs and provision but upon God who is able to meet all of our needs, (Mt. 6:25-33) recognizing that the resources of this world and even the people He brings into our lives are but instruments and vessels through which God meets our needs and that the skills, power, knowledge, and wisdom by which we might acquire our provision are provided and instilled in us by God,
no longer fearing what men can do to us, but rather fearing the God before whom we will have to one day give an account for how we lived our lives, (Mt. 10:28)
no longer looking to corruptible institutions within our society for direction and order in our lives but to God who, by His written Word has given us laws and precepts to be applied to our lives and which serve to produce and maintain an ordered life, and who, by His Holy Spirit which comes to dwell within us upon repentance, establishes in our lives a course and direction in our lives to pursue for His glory,
no longer seeking our own glory but the glory of God,
no longer rallying behind corruptible men, but instead behind the incorruptible God in Heaven bearing in mind that those men and women God raises up for our edification are but instruments and servants of His for that respective purpose to which He has called them,
no longer seeking to align ourselves with the things of darkness but only with the things of the light,
and no longer trust in the wisdom of the world but only on the wisdom and knowledge that comes from above, nor depend on corruptible earthly authorities to swiftly administer justice, but only in the power of God to deliver us from evil.
 
And with the forgiveness of sins and that inward transformation, comes also reconciliation with the Heavenly Father (2 Cor. 5:18) from whom our sins once estranged us and just as we are spiritually freed from the condemnation of sin and a Christless eternity of torment, so we also look forward to the promise of also being liberated from bodily death when our bodies which were born into sin and in which sin dwells will also be liberated from death when our present forms subjugated to corruption and death are transformed into sinless incorruptible bodies that will never die (1 Corinthians 15:51-55, 1 Thess. 4:13-18) for where there is no sin, there is no death and finally, creation itself will be liberated when Satan who is the enemy of our souls and the destroyer of the things which God creates is cast out of this world and receives his final sentence which will be an eternity of torment from which there will be no relief and not only he himself, but all those who have set themselves against their Creator and have rejected His love and offer of forgiveness (Rev. 20) and after the adversary has received his final sentence, the creation will be made anew and it will be one in which there will be no sin, no evil, no death or decay, nor anything that causes pain, suffering, misery, hardship, or grief of any sort, for all of these things will be done away with.  Instead, there will only be peace contentment, joy, happiness, and harmony before the Lord God Almighty. (Rev. 21-22)
 
 
If you have not done so already, and desire a life filled with meaning and purpose instead of emptiness and “boredom”, and if you desire to be at peace about where you will be spending eternity, then I urge you reader today to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins.  It is but a simple and sincere prayer of repentance away:
 
 
 
"Lord Jesus I need you.
 
 
I realize that I am a sinner
who has fallen short of the glory of God
and that my goodness falls short
of your standard of Moral perfection.
 
Please forgive me of all of my sins.
Come into my heart and into my life
to be the Savior and Lord of my life.
Make me into the servant and follower
that you want me to be.
In your name Lord Jesus, I pray.
 
 
Amen."
 
 
Know that God is not concerned with the words that you use to call upon Him forgiveness, but with the attitude of your heart and if you have, with all sincerity, have asked Christ to forgive you of your sins, placing your trust in Him only for your salvation and in nothing else, then your sins are forgiven and your place in Heaven is certain.
 
 
 
End notes:
 
 
 
1.  D.H. Manheim, “More Complicated Than A Demand For Change And Excitement,”
Contender’s Edge, December 11, 2023
https://contendersedge.blogspot.com/2023/12/more-complicated-than-demand-for-change.html
 
2.  Dennis Prager, “Why The Left Hates Conservatism,” WND, October 18, 2022
https://www.wnd.com/2022/10/left-hates-conservatism/?utm_source=izooto&utm_medium=push_notification&utm_campaign=Why_the_left_hates_conservatism
 
 
 
Scripture references:
 
 
 
1.  Isaiah 14:11-21
 
2.  Ezekiel 28:12-19
 
3.  Genesis 2:9
 
4.  Genesis 2:16-17
 
5.  Genesis 3:3
 
6.  Genesis 3:4-6
 
7.  Genesis 3:19
 
8.  Genesis 3:22-24
 
9.  Romans 5:12
 
10.  Romans 6:23
 
11.  Romans 8:19-22
 
12.  Genesis 1:26
 
13.  Matthew 4:8-9
 
14.  Luke 4:6-7
 
15.  John 8:44
 
16.  John 10:10
 
17.  John 12:31
 
18.  John 16:11
 
19.  Matthew 15:11, 18-20
 
20.  Romans 3:23
 
21.  2 Peter 3:9
 
22.  John 1:1
 
23.  2 Corinthians 5:21
 
24.  Hebrews 7:26-27
 
25.  John 1:14
 
26.  Romans 4:25
 
27.  Romans 10:13
 
28.  2 Corinthians 5:17
 
29.  Revelation 21-22
 
30.  Matthew 6:25-33
 
31.  Matthew 10:28
 
32.  2 Corinthians 5:18
 
33.  1 Corinthians 15:51-55
 
34.  1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
 
35.  Revelation 20