I notice it when I start another piece of work instead of heading home, when my schedule fills up and my quiet times fall down. Work takes over, preaching becomes a task not a privilege, pastoral meetings become chores not opportunities to grow in compassion, prayer becomes an obligation not a passion. And yet all the time the jobs just keep on growing, the to-do list never shrinks, the wheels keep turning and if you’re not careful they grind you down. My guess is that no matter what your profession this can happen, but it’s quite dangerous if your profession is ‘shepherd of God’s flock’ (1 Pet 5:2).
When work becomes an idol, personal relationships can suffer, when work becomes the number one thing, we end up making sacrifices in all the wrong places. Even the options seem limited or non-existent. That’s another trap I’ve spotted.
What’s the solution? Sometimes I confess that I have no idea, I’m as all at sea as the next person. But I wonder if the clues don’t lie in the direction of seeing life as a gift (have a read of this Promise of Life) and realising that my job today is not to achieve, nor to strive, but to obey and to trust. I am not God and that’s a good place to start learning. But I must remind myself of this truth daily, I am not God nor is my work, my money, my home, my relationships, my hopes and ambitions. I must cast down the idols within me.
As I do that, I begin to find rest and grace from God to do the best I can. To love my family, serve my church and work through my inbox and if I don’t get it all done, who knows maybe there’s tomorrow. I do all this in His presence, with Him throughout my day, sometimes I remember that and sometimes I don’t. It’s easier when I do.
For some excellent words on idols and not just casting them down but replacing them with a greater affection read Tim Keller’s Counterfeit Gods. Review coming soon.
Over the past few days I’ve been sorting through the household paperwork and getting the filing in order. Bills to be paid, records to keep you know the sort of thing.
Amongst the important but boring were some things of a more personal nature, a few photos, some certificates of achievement and a stack of letters. Most of them were written to me while I was a student (1993-1996) and while I was working in Burundi (1999-2000). Some of the letters contained nothing of any great note and they went to the recycling and others shared more than the events of the week, asked questions and offered answers, told of hopes and dreams and those I kept.
It struck me that it’s been some time since I received, or wrote, a letter. I email, I facebook, I text, I sometimes tweet. Each new form of communication shorter and more rushed than the one that preceded it. Emails become (assuming they have a purpose) business like and to the point. Emails get things done. Texts, messages on Facebook or Twitter connect but rarely do they build relationships.
Even the letters that didn’t stand the test of time in terms of their content still communicated. They told me of a friend who took the time to write, to tell me about their lives and not just assume I’ll notice their latest status update. It made me think that some friendships are too good to just let slide because distance and busyness get in the way.
Last month I reflected that it does me good to walk at the pace of my young son and see the world with some fresh wonder, and now I see another lesson to slow things down a bit. Letter writing is slow both in the creation and the delivery compared to the speed of email and the almost instant nature of texts and tweets. But I’m not sure instant gratification or shallow connection is what I want from those I’m close to. If I can’t be with them in person, then writing some considered thoughts on paper may be the next best thing.
I’m sure the art of writing a good letter is rapidly vanishing from our society but I think our society is poorer as a result. I’m sure I am poorer as a result. Time to think about the one I am writing to, time to think about what I want to say, time to write what’s really important rather than immediate and temporary, time to build relationships with those I love but am not near. It’s time to find out where I put the fountain pen…
I’m rapidly becoming a fan of Tim Chester’s books (I think I own 4 at last count) and I think you should be too. I’m convinced that most of us western Christians have a very poor handle on our time, we’re pushed around by the culture and our busyness makes our relationship with God thin and weak. Which isn’t surprising because Jesus’ warned us that this would be this case if we were preoccupied with the cares of this world.
The Busy Christian’s Guide to Busyness tackles our priorities and our ineffectiveness. But it’s not really a time management book but a book which exposes the lies that lie behind our over-busyness. The lies that we prefer pressure but actually procrastinate (that’s me), to needing the money or the lifestyle, to remain in control, to maximise our life or to feel significant. Yet each lie is countered by truth from the scriptures that bring us to a place of rest, confidence and peaceful trust in God.
The examples are helpful, the scriptures enlightening, the style is readable and most important of all the message is vital. Too often I hear about people who’d love to love God more but busyness kills the desire dead. Rules and time management principles will become the pharisees rules when what we need is more grace.
This is an excellent book that deserves a wide audience because we need to heed its message. You can read an extract here.
I’m not sure anything goes slower than a toddler learning to walk. First of all the steps are generally unsteady, the direction uncertain and the focus unclear. The toddler I have in mind is easily distracted. The dullest of twigs, stones and leaves all get special attention with a pause, crouch and close inspection. You’re lucky if you move a dozen steps (toddler steps mind) before some thought you can’t comprehend results in a sudden change of direction, often towards some hazard or other. In other words progress is painfully, desperately, dreadfully slow. Possibly slower.
I didn’t cope well. It started cute, minutes later it became boring and my mind wandered, I became impatient, irritable, keen to get a move on. I feel the same way in traffic jams or when my computer won’t boot up quickly enough. The world moves fast and you have to hurry to keep up. Life is busy and head, heart and soul get used to operating at a high gear. The next thing you have to do continually intrudes into the present. We’re distracted from the moment by the thought of the whatever is happening next rushing headlong towards us.
The busy we get, the faster the pace of life the more likely it is that we will grow in impatience. It’s a necessary by-product of our over-connected, over-wired, over-busy lives.
The problem in the case of my walk with my toddler is that I had nothing particular to do afterwards, nowhere particular to be and nothing more important to be doing. I was impatient for no very good reason. Once that insight began to take root, I began to make a conscious effort to slow down and appreciate watching my son learn to walk, something I will only get to do once. To appreciate a day I will never live again, to see colours and leaves, and appreciate the fresh air on my skin. To savour the time with my wife and son. To thank God for the rich blessings that are my life, to get to the end of the day and say, “I am blessed”.
It’s good for the soul to slow down, good too for the heart and body. I recommend the pace of a toddler.
This short (7 minute video) is interesting on the subject of time but also on temptation.
They even have a website where you can learn good reasons to be selfish which is hardly a quality our nation is short of. Time is apparently ‘woman’s greatest enemy’ and the way to freedom, the way to harness time, the way to make it your friend is to be selfish, is to have more ‘me’ time.
It’s a concept which I hear a lot, it’s an idea that is most definitely in the church, it’s in my life. I need ‘me’ time, to focus on myself and that’s just one step from saying “It’s OK for me to be selfish.”
It is good to spend some time in quiet, to do things on you enjoy, it is good to have time for reflection but it is never good to be selfish. A selfish approach to time means I’m deliberately putting myself above others, I’m consciously making MY agenda the top one, the prime one, the most important one. Life, even for a short time, becomes about me. For most people this is entirely reasonable but for someone whose life belongs to Christ it’s not so reasonable. In fact you could argue it’s sin.
We need a radically different view of time that frees us from the demands of a busy life. that sees it as a gift and every moment to be enjoyed. For that try this from Tim Chester or consider this from the Promise of Life,
“Because life is a gift, we live it thankfully
Savour what we have
Pray for what we need.
No longer hurried, distracted, or worried,
We’ll walk through each moment with God”
Don’t be selfish, be free
See this set of posts from CJ Mahaney (HT: Gareth LLMK)
But I want to learn a new form of what I’m calling ‘time mis-management’. Time management focuses on doing more, learning tips and techniques how to cope with busy schedules, how to get ahead of the game, how to manage information overload. I’m thinking of dropping out of that game.
I have a couple of options if I want a life of simplicity – I can drop out and buy a farm or something or I can change the rules by which I operate in the midst of a world that is in a mad-rush to nowhere special. Right now I’m facing one of those times where I have much to do, and I can let that stress me out or let it puff me up (‘I’m important because I’m busy’), but I still need to be able to listen to the Spirit of God when in the middle of it all he challenges me to ‘love God and love people’ which always throws a spanner into a busy schedule. Yet what is more important the call to follow or the call to be busy and industrious?
Inner simplicity is being clear about what is most important and living accordingly. So I need to mismanage my time to allow for ‘time wasting’ activities that let me love God and love people and let my productivity drop. Let’s see how it goes…
This is another book review and although the subject matter is different (youth ministry) from the norm it’s title ‘what matters most?‘ is a good question.
Doug Fields essentially calls people to say ‘no’ more often, that over-busyness can kill the soul, that saying ‘yes’ to everything and everyone leads to a crash. At the heart of our society is the view that we must be busy to be meaningful, the more purpose, drive, action we have the better.
In contrast of course there’s a whole generation that have the opposite – no purpose, no drive and not enough action. They need to do something, anything while the majority need to slow down.
If we all heeded Doug’s advice – quality of life would go up. This is a call for quality over quantity and a fresh focus on the most important things. It’s not the only book, it’s not even a brilliant book saying nothing particularly new – but it communicates its message well and for those that read it – I’m sure it will have an impact.
Here’s a quote to whet your appetite, “Technology is forcing us to live at speed, not at depth.” I’ve got to say I find it hard to argue with that. If you want to read more of Anjula Razdan’s top bit of writing then click here
I reckon the tyranny of time (or our perceived lack of it) is a huge thing for us, but I don’t have the time to think about. Damn the irony of it all! In reading around it I came across Take Back Your Time which is well worth a look
I believe Jesus when he said 'life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions'. I believe he offers something better. This blog is mostly about that search.
I'm also a husband, a father, church planter, keen runner, reader, and motorcyclist. These and a few other things make guest appearances from time to time.
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