TOO BUSY?

TOO BUSY?

“Slow your row,” a good friend once advised.  “Don’t be so preoccupied with getting things done that you miss out on the essence of life.”  Although his comments felt rather intrusive and constrictive at the time, when I actually slowed down and reconsidered, they made all the sense in the world.  There is nothing wrong with being busy, in and of itself, but it is mission critical that we strive to keep the main thing as the main thing.  And the most important thing is how we relate to one another. (John 13:35 and Romans 12:10)

A young and successful executive was driving down a suburban street in his brand new black Jaguar when a large rock was hurled forcefully from the sidewalk, banging loudly into the side of the car.

Brakes slammed!  Gears ground into reverse, and tires madly spun the Jaguar back to the spot where the rock had been thrown.  The driver jumped out, angrily grabbing the kid who had thrown the rock, pushing him up against a parked car.  “What was that all about?” he screamed.  “That’s my new Jag and that rock you threw will cost you a lot of money!”

“Please, mister, I’m so sorry!  I didn’t know what else to do!” pleaded the youngster.  “I threw the rock because no one else would stop!” Tears were dripping down the boy’s chin as he pointed to a spot near the parked car.  “It’s my brother, mister,” he said.  “He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up!”  Sobbing, the boy asked the executive, “Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair?  He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.”

In an instant, the executive’s mood was transformed as he realized what had occurred.  He lifted the young man into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief to wipe his bleeding scrapes and cuts.  He then watched compassionately as the younger brother pushed him down the sidewalk toward home.

The young executive never repaired the dented door of his Jaguar.  He kept the dent to remind himself not to go through life so rapidly that someone has to throw a rock to get his attention.

Question: What is the rhythm and cadence of your life?

A Princeton University research study was designed to determine the conditions under which good people would take time to act for good.  Two psychologists asked a group of seminary students to walk to another building on campus to deliver a short speech.  Some were told that the speech would be about their motives for studying theology.  Others were told that it would be about the biblical parable of the Good Samaritan.  The psychologists had arranged for an actor to be stationed on the path between the two buildings, slumped over, coughing loudly and apparently in bad shape.  The two experimenters told half the students that they were late for their speaking appointment and half that they had ample time.

How do you think they responded?  Who was most likely to help: those with the story of the Good Samaritan uppermost in their minds or those who were thinking about their motives for studying theology?  In the end, there was a significant difference in how they reacted, but the content of their speech made no difference at all.  About the same number of Good Samaritan speakers and theology motivation students stopped.  What did make a real difference was how rushed the students thought themselves to be.  Only 10 percent of those who thought they were running late stopped to help.  On the other hand, 60 percent of those who thought they had plenty of time stopped to help.

In a society that is absolutely obsessed with investing all our time to gain more and more, it is easy to get caught up in the rat race and fail to respond in loving and humane ways to other people, near and far.  To be transparent, there are moments when I feel so busy or tired that it seems almost unreasonable to listen attentively to my wife’s story of what she has during her day.  But more often than not, love moves me in the direction of an apology and genuine concern for her feelings.  Every day, I ask myself this question: “What is most importance, my immediate plans or my larger purpose for being on the planet?”  Think about it.  Today, let’s decide to make loving and compassionate choices.

Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!