Will Heaven be Boring?

Heaven and NBC's The Good Place

The Good Place and the Greater Hope: A Christian Reflection on Heaven

In January 2020, NBC aired the final episodes of its beloved series The Good Place. I thoroughly enjoyed the show—not only for its clever humor but also for its surprisingly thoughtful exploration of ethics, morality, and the afterlife.

[Spoilers Ahead]

In the final episodes, the characters arrive at “the Good Place,” only to find that everyone there has lost their minds. Endless pleasure, comfort, and the unceasing fulfillment of every desire have left them hollow. The paradise they had so long pursued has become its own kind of hell. One character observes that even eternal happiness, when disconnected from purpose or growth, becomes unbearable.

The show’s proposed solution is to allow people to quietly disappear—to cease existing. The only answer it can offer to eternal boredom is final death. What began as a search for ultimate meaning ends with the acceptance that meaning can’t last forever. This echoes the despair of existentialist Albert Camus, who concluded that life’s only real question is whether to commit suicide. English Moral Philosopher Benard Williams said “Immortality, or a state without death, would be meaningless, because everything desirable about life depends on its ending.”

[Spoilers End]

The show is fictional, of course, but its reflection of real human longing is worth noting. We don’t just want pleasure. We don’t just want immortality. These things in an of themselves will drive us mad. We want something deeper. We need something deeper. We need joy—not the shallow kind that fades, but the kind that grows deeper the longer it lasts. We want a joy that doesn’t turn inward and collapse but a joy that expands as we behold something greater than ourselves.

“To look into God’s eyes will be to see what we’ve always longed to see: the person who made us for His own good pleasure.” — Randy Alcorn

“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” — C.S. Lewis

That is exactly what Scripture promises: we were made for another world. Not a world of self-centered indulgence, but a world of God-centered delight. In The Good Place, eternal joy becomes unbearable because it is detached from the One who is joy Himself. In Scripture, Heaven is not an escape from reality—it is the fulfillment of it.

Revelation 21:1–4 (ESV)

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth… “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man…”

At the center of Heaven is not pleasure—it’s a Person. Heaven is not heaven because it’s painless. Heaven is heaven because God is there. Our joy will not be found in what surrounds us, but in who reigns over us. The deepest longing of the human soul is not for ease, but for glory—and the glory of God is the only thing big enough to satisfy it.

So, what does this joy look like?

Heaven Is Real, Bodily, and Beautiful

Heaven is not the end of the story. It’s the beginning of the real story we were meant to live. When Christ returns, He will raise our bodies and renew the earth. We won’t live as ghosts in clouds. We’ll walk, eat, build, sing, laugh, explore—and worship.

The Bible tells us that Jesus ascended to Heaven bodily (Acts 1:9–11), and that we, too, will rise as He did (Philippians 3:21). The vision of Revelation shows multitudes worshiping in white robes, gathered in community, dwelling with God.

“The best of life on earth is a glimpse of Heaven; the worst of life is a glimpse of Hell. For Christians, this present life is the closest they will come to Hell. For unbelievers, it is the closest they will come to Heaven.” — Randy Alcorn

Will There Be Animals? Will We Create? Will We Explore?

Why not? Isaiah 65 speaks of wolves and lambs together. Revelation mentions scrolls and books. Our God is a Creator, and we are made in His image. Why would the New Earth be less alive, less colorful, or less creative than this one?

We may discover uncharted lands, tell new stories, study the depths of God's handiwork, and reign with Christ in a kingdom that knows no end. Perhaps we’ll meet extinct creatures. Perhaps we’ll write songs no one’s ever heard. Maybe we’ll even explore galaxies.

But whatever we do, we will do it in the presence of God. And that is the whole point.

“You made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.” — Augustine

The Glory That Satisfies

The greatest tragedy of The Good Place is not just its conclusion, but its starting assumption: that Heaven is about getting what we want. The gospel says otherwise. Heaven is about seeing God and being transformed by that vision. Our joy will never run dry because the source of our joy is infinite.

The Christian hope is not found in escaping this world, but in the One who is making all things new.

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” — 1 Corinthians 2:9

Heaven will not be good because of golden streets, but because the Lamb is there. It will not be fulfilling because our desires are met, but because our deepest desire—God Himself—will be ours forever.

And the joy of that vision will never grow old.