There’s Nothing to Do Here
I’ve never lived in a major metropolitan area. I grew up in a rural area outside the city limits of a town that, according to the latest census figures that I could find, has about 6,500 residents. After Donna and I married, we actually lived in that same town for the first eight years of our marriage. Since then, we have lived in (or just outside of) towns with populations of about 1,500, 8,000, and 27,000.
That last figure is the population for Paducah, Kentucky, where we presently live. That figure may be a little misleading, though. That is the population for people who live within the actual city limits. There are communities just outside the city limits which would significantly increase that number. Even with that, though, Paducah is far from being considered one of the larger cities in our nation or even our state.
I find it interesting that Donna and I are now living where people from at least two of the places in which we’ve formerly lived are also now living. It is also interesting to me that we heard a “common refrain” when we lived in those smaller communities. It was used to explain why people – especially younger people – were leaving those places and moving to places like Paducah and other locations. The “reason” given was the impetus for the title of this post. I heard over and over again that there was nothing for people to do in those places.
Can you take a wild guess what Donna and I have heard as an excuse for people leaving this area for places like Nashville, Memphis, St. Louis, Atlanta, and other much larger places? It seems that we are doomed to live in communities in which there is nothing to do!
Actually, the situation does not appear to be much different in those larger places. I’ve talked with people who live in some of them. It is not unheard of for people to move from those places to even larger places. From what I’m told, some people seem to think that there is nothing (or not enough) to do in those larger places either.
I definitely understand that certain occupations, employment opportunities, entertainment venues, stores, etc. are not found in smaller communities. If, for example, my goal in life is to live in one skyscraper, work in another skyscraper, and ride in a subway between them, I could not do that in any of the communities in which I’ve lived for my entire life.
If, on the other hand, my first priority in life is to honor God and to serve Him, I will have no trouble finding plenty to do wherever I find myself (or choose to put myself). Bigger is neither better nor worse. Smaller is neither better nor worse.
Our Lord was able to fulfill His mission on the earth while being in the presence of only one other person. He was also able to do that when He was with thousands of people. One significant statement about His earthly ministry is that “…He went about doing good…” (Acts 10:38).
I’m thinking that it would be a good idea for all of us to look for opportunities to do what Jesus did wherever we are. If we were to do that, we might not have quite as much time to think about the allure of some other place.
AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
