AREN’T WE GOING TO BE BORED IN HEAVEN?

It’s about the little attraction of Christian ideas about eternal life. Eternally go to the Lamb – as the Apocalypse describes it – and sing “Alleluia. ” An eternal feast that we know will not be served there. Eternal reign – well, what does eternal reign mean? Of course, I’m not naïve, and I understand that these images are symbolic. I’m also too long to put my nose up at their attractiveness. However, I ask you to admit that this is a problem. Please, let’s try to bring the fear of heaven’s boredom to the ground. Sometimes we come across the view that if all the people on earth were good and if none of us ever committed sin, it would be kind of monotonous, uninteresting, boring. For evil, sin, and various imperfections – he says this opinion – bring diversity into life, making life interesting and richer. I’m afraid that if someone says that, they either don’t know what they’re saying or judge by themselves: they’re internally empty, and they can’t imagine life without continually finding ways to break out of this void. I mean, what’s boring? I can think of two answers to this question that are worth paying attention to. First, boredom is a sign of inner emptiness, fragmented personality, uncrystallized identity. This defines boredom and constant attempts to escape from it, among others, Artur Schopenhauer. He writes of “an inner void, traces of which are engraved on myriad faces, and as evidenced by the attention focused on all the prettiest events of the outside world. This emptiness, which is the main source of boredom, still requires external stimuli, only to set in motion reason and feelings. It is indiscriminate in terms of means, as evidenced by the poor work you run to, the nature of their relationships, and the way they talk, as well as the many people who are constantly standing in the open door or looking out the window. It is this inner emptiness that is the main reason for the pursuit of social, for entertainment, for pleasure”. Of course, escape from boredom must be unsuccessful, for it does not fill man internally but merely drowns out the emptiness. It acts as a narcotic, which narcotics, but does not change anything in a positive sense; on the contrary, it strengthens the state of emptiness and causes a person to become less and less capable of changing for the better. And so far, it’s boring- and which one of us is not subject to it? – God’s gift, and we mustn’t waste that gift. After all, it is truly God’s gift that man’s emptiness disturbs, dissuades, and forced him to work. Boredom is a disease of the soul. Just as the body’s disease alarms the body, it reports a state of emergency; similarly, boredom is one of the bells ringing to the alarm that the soul is at risk. It’s not right to kill boredom because that’s how I remove the alarm bell and allow the inner destruction to continue unchecked. The voice of the bell does not invite me to become more and more distracted; on the contrary, it calls me to concentrate, seek my identity, and become more and more myself. We should respect the voice of this bell, and we usually try to turn it off. Also, the second responsible question, boredom, is probably heading to the heart of the matter. Namely, boredom is proof of a lack of Love. A. Kaczyński wrote about it: “Love is the antithesis of boredom; boredom is a feeling that arises when we want to escape from some environment, but we cannot. Boredom wears off because we’re about to escape, but we’re not able to realize it. One never gets bored with the person he loves because Love attracts, while boredom repels. Feeling bored is a sensitive indicator of our emotional relationship with the environment”. In the end, both concepts lead to essentially the same conclusion. After all, we are more ourselves; the more and more we truly love others, the more we disperse and waste time on petty things, the less we want or love. Concentrating doesn’t just mean closing your eyes occasionally (even if it’s essential), but above all, it means 18 to open your eyes to your neighbor. On the other hand, it is possible to keep my eyes open and not see, look, and ignore: the more truthful I will see and love others, the richer I will be myself internally. So, my answer to your question is as follows: We must look truthfully at the problem of boredom on earth, and then we will be shown the whole senselessness of fear that perhaps heaven will be boring. After all, take a good look at all three symbols of eternal life mentioned in your letter. Constant staying with the Lamb – heaven will therefore be eternal Love. Where there’s Love, it’s not there, and it can’t be boring. Love drives away boredom like the light of darkness. And there is a love for someone infinite, for someone infinitely rich; yet this Love does not have to worry about the lack of reciprocity because He loved us first, and his Love is lasting. In eternal life, we will be supremely filled with Love, and therefore the happiness of eternal life exceeds the present possibilities of our imagination. In the early days, however, we can experience this condition already on this earth. And it is also interesting that people who are already here on earth, how much happiness gives a person living with God and according to God, are not afraid that they might get bored in heaven. You also mention the symbol of the feast – and it is a symbol of fulfillment, an image of a state in which one does not miss anything. This is not, of course, a consumerism issue. Eternal life, this is a state full of humanity; man will finally and forever be SOMEONE; for it truly creates Love, a connection with God, a giver of Love, a connection in God with all who are worthy of Love, and with all that is worthy of Love. Or a symbol of eternal reign, or eternal freedom. Eternal life means liberation from all those external and inner bonds that now cripple us with all our good forces. Here on earth, we can’t even imagine what it means to be completely free from sin, what beautiful landscapes of the spirit open up in front of the man. Only those who have a good time can know how much satisfaction it provides to man, even the indefinite victory over sin that is possible on this earth. But the most important conclusion of these considerations should be this: Let us try to respond properly to boredom – not to drown it out, but to triumph over it.