In the Margins - 6/3/26

Things I Read

Erick Cintora and Graysen Guiterez are interns for the church this summer, and I've been assigning books for them to read and reading their reflection papers. These are bright young men, and I'm eager to see the Lord continue to develop not only their theology but their character.

Things I Listened To

Still listening through the four-part series on leadership development on Pastors Talk.

Things I Watched

Watched Star Wars Episode 3 earlier this week. I forgot how intense that one is.

Things I Thought

For my Pilgrim's Press article, I decided to write on the subject of boredom, so I've been thinking about it. The irony is that the more we invent things to reduce boredom (TVs, iPhones, social media, addicting games), the more bored we become. By continually looking to entertainment to get rid of boredom, we are repeatedly blinding ourselves to the beauty and goodness of the real world, while simultaneously feeding ourselves ultra-amusing stimulation. The world of the screen -- bright colors, fast movement, personalized algorithms -- becomes far more appealing than the real world. The screens we used to cure our boredom actually make us more bored with the real world.

Quotes to Ponder

"What keeps all living things busy and in motion is the striving to exist. But when existence is secured, they do not know what to do: that is why the second thing that sets them in motion is a striving to get rid of the burden of existence, not to feel it any longer, 'to kill time', i.e. to escape boredom..."

"Boredom is certainly not an evil to be taken lightly: it will ultimately etch lines of true despair onto a face..."

-- Arthur Schopenhauer