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 slowed down to
reconsider, 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 his beautiful 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. Then, he 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 would have to hurl a
rock to gain his attention.
Key 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 and energy in gaining 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 was doing
during her day. But more often than not, love eventually moves me in the
direction of a sincere apology for inattention and a genuine concern for her
feelings. My friend, every day I ask myself this question: “What is most
importance, my immediate schedule or my larger purpose for being alive and
engaged in our Father’s world?” Think about it. We have
options. So, let’s decide to make loving
and compassionate choices – with our time, talent and treasure.
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