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Boredom and "Dullness of Soul"
by
Marilyn Howshall
Developer of the Lifestyle of Learning TM message
The Lifestyle of Learning vision seeks to redeem specific godly purpose even while the children are growing up. Let us examine for a moment the Scripture in Mark 8:36. "For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul?" If a child grows up without a love of learning, the result will be a "dullness of soul," or more specifically stated: boredom.
What does it profit a child if he gains twelve years of academic information and knowledge and yet remains dull and passionless toward life and learning? Worse yet, is when he grows up without developing a sense a purpose and destiny and wanders for many years of his adult life not knowing that God has a specially designed plan for him.
Purposelessness is like a soul-death; he is lost. Any degree of boredom in a child should be recognized and dealt with earnestly. It is like a disease that will rob a person of his life.
Sometimes boredom is a result of too much of the wrong kinds of activities being forced upon a person; he is constrained to man's plan for his life. Boredom is present when there is no creative flow of activity. Traditional means of education are most often void of creativity for a child. Thus, the child develops a pattern of turning off his soul to the whole process of learning and simply goes through the motions doing what he is made to do.
All we have to do to see that there is little that could be considered biblical about traditional education is look at the fruit! Even as it is replicated in the Christian schools with biblical content, does not a biblical education make. Quality content is only one factor of several important elements that should be present to be considered biblical.
The means or method by which the education was procured will determine its success more than any other factor. Poor methods nearly wipe out any potential that the quality content had for educating the student.
Boredom is an ungodly condition of the soul, thus it can be likened to a sin condition. The sin condition of boredom develops because the "(traditional school) system" is all most parents are familiar with, but we can begin now to restore our lives to biblical patterns.
Boredom results because of lack of stewardship over God-given talents, abilities and time, which all serve to demonstrate ungratefulness for God's precious gift of life. When a child is made to trade in his life for years of generic studies that have little or nothing to do with his life, his lifestyle (because of boredom) is also at risk of remaining void of purposeful activity.
I think that a primary reason why some would continue in old educational patterns is for the sake of the "gap" theory. Based upon the above scriptural analysis, do you see what the true gap could be ~ our children were created for purpose ~ unique purpose designed for them now! "'...Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him'" (I Corinthians 2) and "'For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them'" (Ephesians 2:10).
(Read chapter 22 in Wisdom's Way of Learning to help you better understand the boredom problem and how to deal with it.)
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