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What's The Hurry? |
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Everyone is in a hurry…hurry to eat, to work, to play, even
to worship. We want our entertainment in quick, rapid
sound bytes. If you are on the Internet what matters most
is your connection speed and the time it takes to download
whatever site you are on (thanks for waiting long enough to see this!)
This is especially true with the holiday season. We can get
so caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season. The
danger is that we miss the whole point of living. If we
don't slow down we can't absorb. If we can't absorb we
can't benefit. Meaningful things take time.
This hurried way of living is particularly distressing for
us as believers.
John Ortberg pinpoints this in his article, Taking
Care of Busyness.
"For most of us, the great danger is not that we
will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so
distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle
for a mediocre version of it. We will just skim our lives
instead of actually living them."
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But I Can't Do Nothing!
The flipside is a real danger that if we slow down, or even
stop and do nothing once in a while we will become overwhelmed
with guilt. It feels wrong to so many of us to be still
or to stop "doing". So, we jump back into
the race. We fall into the trap of activity being the
point, rather than what our activity should result in.
Take a lesson from the farmer. Time to plant, time to grow,
time to harvest. This process cannot be rushed. It requires
persistent, dedicated effort and if the necessary time
is not taken it will not bear fruit. Or worse, we'll
attempt to harvest before the fruit is ripe. Ugh, sour
grapes!
This hurried way of doing things has even infiltrated our
evangelism. We rush people into accepting Jesus. You
must get saved now-don't wait!
It's unwise to delay, but the solution is not rushing a decision.
We must take our time with the truly important things.
Maybe we forget how powerful God's message is. Once it sinks
in and is honestly considered most people don't hesitate
to make a decision. If we do give them enough space
let's be cautious not to rush them headlong into growth.
Lead with confidence and God's timing.
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Be Here Now
A wonderful way to slow down and escape the "hurry
trap" is to simply be in the now-the sacred present
moment. Young children know how to do this. The older
we get the more impatient we become. The desire for
instant gratification swells within. We want more and
more faster and faster.
No wonder we feel so refreshed after a retreat. If that
quiet time has indeed been many hours of contemplation
without a strict schedule or a clamor of activities
then we treat ourselves to living in the present. It
can be incredible to savor life in slow segments.
There are many tools and tactics to confront our hurriedness.
Retreats have been mentioned. Also beneficial is centering
prayer and silent meditation. Or, as Ortberg suggests
in his article, we can deliberately place ourselves
in situations that force us to slow down, such as the
long line at the grocery store and the slow lane when
driving.
Quality, Not Quantity
What we learn from slowing down is the important thing. We
live in such an information/content heavy society that
we fail to understand, much less appreciate, what we
read. It's like shoving fast food down our gullets while
driving to our next appointment. Not much tasting and
certain indigestion.
What's the point of reading something if you can't recall anything
significant from it five minutes later?
The real lesson in all this is the quality of our life,
not the quantity. This is nothing new, but some of the
most important lessons are the ones we re-visit regularly.
As the holidays approach take the time to live in the
moment and to live fully. One day at a time. Rejoice
with the happy, mourn with the sorrowful, encourage
the troubled and love everyone.
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Scripture taken from the Holy
Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright ©
1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights
reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International
Bible Society.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered
trademarks of International Bible Society. Use of either
trademark for the offering of goods or services requires
the prior written consent of International Bible Society.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy
Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used
by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton,
IL 60189, USA. All rights reserved.
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