“Oh yeah, they say life goes on Long after the thrill of livin’ is gone…”

Does that sound familiar? John Mellencamp’s Jack & Diane has become something of an American anthem. At a minimum a classic. The album it was on was called “American Fool”, which is also very aptly named for the point of this post.

You see, we humans bore easily. Have you ever thought of it? How many teenagers do you know that are just plain bored? Maybe you’re pretty bored yourself.

“The thrill of livin’” can be a bit of a trap for us. Paul warned us about it in Romans 7:15. One of the many human conditions is to be thrill seekers. In that verse Paul talks about his propensity to do exactly what he was told not to do. There is something of a thrill in it. A “thrill of livin’” maybe. The flip side of that is that doing what we are supposed to be doing can take on a dull and non-thrilling appearance. Downright boring.

I’ve often wondered if instead of eating from a tree, what if God said: “okay you guys, the only thing you’re not allowed to do is wear shoes on your head. Anything else is fine.” I wonder about that because I’m sure not one generation would pass before someone had invented shoes and stuck them on their head for the thrill of it. Thrills are dangerous things and boredom is similarly dangerous.

Today society, even the church, functions on thrills. Entertainment, communications, advertisement, they all present thrill/boredom traps for us to step into. It’s important that we recognize this illusion.

Beware of thrills. The word contentment is what Paul uses to instruct us on how we should live. Thrill and contentment are not the same thing. In fact contentment lies in the balance between boredom and thrill. Both are extremes. Thrills by nature have to be out of the ordinary, when they become ordinary then you have to go elsewhere for your thrills. This is exemplified by the plethora of rich celebrities who go bonkers trying to find a way to make life fun.

As Christians we know that we don’t exist to have fun. Life is not for pleasure. It’s for content service to our creator. There is room for pleasure and even a thrill or two on that road, but they aren’t the motivators, God is. So please let’s keep the thrill seeking in its place, even the seemingly innocent types.

A few years ago I had the opportunity to go para gliding. Having owned dirt bikes and snowboards I have done my share of thrill seeking. Flying like a bird was amazing. For weeks after I was trying to think of a way that I could do it more often. If I wasn’t broke, I would have probably done it too. Few would have faulted me for it. It is really pretty cool. However, now in hindsight I think I have learned an important lesson. The discontentment that came after the thrill was proof that my thrill seeking was not in its proper place. I’ve since tucked that experience in the back of my mind as a reminder to be content in all things.

If a thrill arises for one reason or another, I will move on content with the thrill of life itself. The thrill of breathing, walking, seeing, … these are all thrills in their own way. Just ask anyone who was once blind and can now see. My children’s every new discovery, the warmth of the sun. There are plenty of “out of the ordinary” things in every day life. Too many for us to require making our own. I have avoided the mention of sin, but that is the biggest trap of all. The trap whose effectiveness is daily demonstrated by the “American Fool”s lining up to become snared. Please don’t be an “American Fool”.