Don’t be bored, read the Century
Our staff operates under the premise that life is never dull.
For all of the missteps my wife and I made in the realm of parenting, I’m pretty sure that one of our more brilliant successes was the prohibition we placed on the word bored. Every member of the household was banned from using that word or any of its correlatives when referring to one’s immediate experience or outlook on life.
Our rule, which didn’t require enforcement until the kids reached adolescence, helped stifle some of the contempt that accompanies most expressions of boredom. The “entertain me” attitude that springs from a lack of interest in what’s happening in the world can make personal boredom appear to be someone else’s fault. That wasn’t a workable proposition in our house. Susan and I believe that one of the unheralded gifts of God’s spirit is the reminder that life is intrinsically interesting and full of daily significance. Whatever our human capacity may be for losing resolve, feeling listless, and sensing an absence of meaning, there is always more to life than what is immediately observable to our eyes.
When our son and daughter were in middle school and high school, hinting through their inertia on a few days that there was nothing worth getting excited about in the world, I could have handed them the Christian Century. Why not? The magazine is a perfect antidote to boredom, as far as I’m concerned. But, in truth, they were too young for it at the time. The Century isn’t for everybody.
