Are You Waiting to be Entertained?
October 15, 2006 

I think the reason so many people have come to expect their happiness to come from outside of themselves is because of the amount of entertainment we have in our society today.  We've learned to wait for someone or something to entertain us instead of choosing to be happy now.  But happiness is a choice you make for yourself.  If you're waiting for something to come along and tickle your funny bone you may be waiting a long time.  It's sad to think that we put ourselves at the mercy of other people before we will allow ourselves to be happy.

Do you ever get bored?  If you think about it, boredom is really when you're disappointed because there is no one or no thing around to entertain you.  You're looking for something outside of yourself, something that you don't have at the moment, to make you happy.  If you will remember that everything you need to be happy and content is already available to you then you don't ever have to be bored or discontent. 

Did you ever notice that when you're in the room with someone who says, "I'm bored," it's almost as if they're expecting you to do something about it.  The pressure is on you now to entertain them or do something to take away their boredom.  In reality, they need to understand that their discontentment is not your responsibility.  They need to make the choice to have a merry heart and that will bring a happy face. 

Look at what we do with our kids.  The minute they fuss we shove a toy or something in front of them.  We really aren't teaching them how to be content.  Of course I'm not saying to ignore a crying baby, but we need to look at what we're doing to help our kids learn that happiness doesn't come from outside, but from within.  Contentment isn't when you get everything you want.  Peace doesn't mean that there is no conflict going on around you.  In order to have true peace and contentment you need to learn that you won't always get your own way, you won't always get what you want and people may not always be happy with you.  But that doesn't mean you have to walk around angry and unsatisfied.  You can still be happy and content on the inside regardless of the conflict on the outside.  Our kids need to learn this early on in life.

Too often people use their goals to motivate themselves.  It's good to have goals, but the problem with focusing too much on the goal is that you're motivating yourself by a lack mentality.   Your energy is coming from something you don't yet have. Something you're trying to get.  There's no contentment and no rest there.  Rest brings strength.  And the Bible tells us that the joy of the Lord is our strength.  Rest & Joy together bring great strength.  When you can rejoice over what you've already been blessed with you'll have great strength and motivation to face each day with.  But if you're telling yourself that you'll be happy when.... then each day lacks the energy and the peace you could have had.  There's a fine line between working hard because you know the value of diligence, faithfulness and patience and working hard because you can't feel content until you get something that your hard work will bring.  The first one is wisdom and produces peace.  The second one will keep you anxious.

What do you do when you're feeling bored or restless?  Do you feel like you need something other than what you already have to make the feeling go away?  Do you go shopping thinking if you buy something you'll feel better?  Do you look to blame another person thinking that they are boring because they're not entertaining you?  A good place to start is to look at what you have that you can be thankful for.  A merry heart is a thankful heart.  If you want a smile on your face that will last, you'll need to have gratitude in your heart.  And when you do your happiness is no longer dependent on other people.  You can have it anytime you choose.