Hurry is bad for your health. That's one of the few things all health experts agree on.
Everyone is always in a hurry. That's one thing virtually every American citizen agrees on.
If you're not hurrying, you're getting lazy and need to find more to do. That's another thing that modern Westerners agree on. At least our typical behavior says as much. Tell your average professional contact you've been "frantically busy" and chances are the answer will be, "That's great!" Stuffing all the accomplishment one can into life is worn like a badge of honor. We hate it; we acknowledge the health problems it creates; but we'd about as soon die as change.
Accomplishment, and the pride it feeds, is the god of modern America's unofficial state religion.
The real God makes somewhat different demands of us. "Be still, and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10a). "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me... and you will find rest for your souls" (Mt. 11:29). "You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed" (Lk. 10:41b-42a).
Certain traditional cultures have a charming descriptive phrase for periodic rest breaks: "giving your soul a chance to catch up." Your soul--and the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit.
He will only change us when we stop rushing to force change in ourselves.
(For more on modern life's negative health impact, see the recent Newsweek article, "Andrew Weil's Spontaneous Happiness.")
Slowly, slowly, we are growing
Under God's all-knowing care;
Though we may see little progress,
Yet His work is always there.
Slowly, slowly, God is working
As He shapes each heart and soul;
Let us not become impatient;
In His time He makes us whole.
Slowly, slowly, we are moving
Toward the Land of joy and rest;
When we enter, we will clearly
Know God's speed is always best.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Sabbath Spirit
As the week starts to wind down, many of us are already anticipating the weekend. But what are we really anticipating? Time to enjoy our favorite hobbies? Time to surf the Internet? Time to get out of town for a day? Time to catch up on our chores? Time to sleep late?
Or... just "down time," period?
Or do we feel a bit guilty even entertaining that idea? For many of us, weekends are as frenetic as weeks, and Sundays no less than Saturdays. Many people arrive at church irritable over how the kids dawdled getting ready, apprehensive over doing good jobs as ushers or choir singers, and hoping the sermon won't cut into after-church time. Too many people with too many weeks of such attitudes, and you wind up with a congregation lacking in both joy and Christian love, full of plastic smiles and good behavior that hides aching hearts and judgmental spirits.
When God commanded His people to take every seventh day for a Sabbath, what He wanted was for them to pause the "hurry-scurry-flurry" of life long enough to discover the true joy of loving Him and each other with all our hearts. All too frequently, we instead make "worship day" either a dutiful requirement or an excuse to be equally busy with different things--and then squabble over who's right about what. Jesus regarded the legalistic Sabbath-keeping of His earthly days with sadness and anger; one can picture Him still shaking His head today because His people still don't "get it."
Loveless legalism and flippant disregard have their roots in the same problem: trying to define "how rest should work" solely by our own judgment. The Sabbath was intended as a day for us to get in tune with God's judgment, to take time to listen to Him and to absorb the teachings of the Spirit so we can learn to see things eternal as clearly as things temporal.
And to carry that sight into our daily work.
The dawning of the Lord's Day
Should bring us joy and peace:
Forgive us, God our Father,
When strivings do not cease,
And when we rush our worship
And squander what is best:
Give us a Sabbath Spirit,
That knows the way of rest!
The dawning of the Lord's Day
Should lift our hearts to praise:
Forgive us, God our Father,
When we choose selfish ways
And grumble over matters
Of prayers or music tone:
Give us a Sabbath Spirit,
That seeks Your will alone!
The dawning of the Lord's Day
Should bid us seek new heights:
Forgive us, God our Father,
When we chase selfish "rights,"
And help us yearn, wholehearted,
For all You hold in store:
Give us a Sabbath Spirit,
That craves to know You more!
Or... just "down time," period?
Or do we feel a bit guilty even entertaining that idea? For many of us, weekends are as frenetic as weeks, and Sundays no less than Saturdays. Many people arrive at church irritable over how the kids dawdled getting ready, apprehensive over doing good jobs as ushers or choir singers, and hoping the sermon won't cut into after-church time. Too many people with too many weeks of such attitudes, and you wind up with a congregation lacking in both joy and Christian love, full of plastic smiles and good behavior that hides aching hearts and judgmental spirits.
When God commanded His people to take every seventh day for a Sabbath, what He wanted was for them to pause the "hurry-scurry-flurry" of life long enough to discover the true joy of loving Him and each other with all our hearts. All too frequently, we instead make "worship day" either a dutiful requirement or an excuse to be equally busy with different things--and then squabble over who's right about what. Jesus regarded the legalistic Sabbath-keeping of His earthly days with sadness and anger; one can picture Him still shaking His head today because His people still don't "get it."
Loveless legalism and flippant disregard have their roots in the same problem: trying to define "how rest should work" solely by our own judgment. The Sabbath was intended as a day for us to get in tune with God's judgment, to take time to listen to Him and to absorb the teachings of the Spirit so we can learn to see things eternal as clearly as things temporal.
And to carry that sight into our daily work.
The dawning of the Lord's Day
Should bring us joy and peace:
Forgive us, God our Father,
When strivings do not cease,
And when we rush our worship
And squander what is best:
Give us a Sabbath Spirit,
That knows the way of rest!
The dawning of the Lord's Day
Should lift our hearts to praise:
Forgive us, God our Father,
When we choose selfish ways
And grumble over matters
Of prayers or music tone:
Give us a Sabbath Spirit,
That seeks Your will alone!
The dawning of the Lord's Day
Should bid us seek new heights:
Forgive us, God our Father,
When we chase selfish "rights,"
And help us yearn, wholehearted,
For all You hold in store:
Give us a Sabbath Spirit,
That craves to know You more!
Friday, October 14, 2011
Worship in the Times of Plenty
I'm no economist, but anyone not living on a remote island knows that these are hard times financially for more people than average. And I do know enough history to be convinced that one cause of economic downturns is the "get all you can while the getting's good" mentality that rises in times of prosperity.
While many people turn on God because their lives are miserable and He doesn't seem to be doing much about it, if anything we forget Him faster when we have little to complain about. When the Israelites first entered Canaan, God warned them that if they let their attention to the Law lapse, "...when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.... You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me'” (Dt. 8:12-14, 17). Which, of course, was exactly what happened.
Hard times or easy, we all have a tendency to slip into seeing God primarily as a means of getting what we want rather than as the One Who deserves all we have to give. Learning to truly worship is hard work.
But oh, how worth the effort when we are freed from slavery to our circumstances!
Worship in the times of plenty:
Though you seem to have it all,
Don't forget: God gives the blessing,
Makes abundance rise and fall.
Worship in the times of hardship:
Though your blessings seem but few,
God still gives His glorious riches
Every day with mercies new.
Worship God in health and sickness;
Worship Him in peace and pain:
He is worthy of all praises;
Even loss, in Him, is gain.
While many people turn on God because their lives are miserable and He doesn't seem to be doing much about it, if anything we forget Him faster when we have little to complain about. When the Israelites first entered Canaan, God warned them that if they let their attention to the Law lapse, "...when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.... You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me'” (Dt. 8:12-14, 17). Which, of course, was exactly what happened.
Hard times or easy, we all have a tendency to slip into seeing God primarily as a means of getting what we want rather than as the One Who deserves all we have to give. Learning to truly worship is hard work.
But oh, how worth the effort when we are freed from slavery to our circumstances!
Worship in the times of plenty:
Though you seem to have it all,
Don't forget: God gives the blessing,
Makes abundance rise and fall.
Worship in the times of hardship:
Though your blessings seem but few,
God still gives His glorious riches
Every day with mercies new.
Worship God in health and sickness;
Worship Him in peace and pain:
He is worthy of all praises;
Even loss, in Him, is gain.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Wait and Work
"Finding God's will" has never been my idea of a well-defined task. I seem to constantly drift toward one of two extremes: refusing to move for anything short of an audible voice from Heaven or taking the slightest inner twinge of interest as God's go-ahead signal. It must come from having a "student temperament" that loves learning on nearly any topic yet demands well-defined assignments before doing anything with that learning.
Christians who are surer of God's specific call on their lives often suffer a different problem: call it "crash and burn syndrome." Typically, it hits those who embark on a ministry with great promise; achieve one "great work" after another at first; then, when everyone least expects it, seem to drop overnight into severe depression, or, worse, sin. Usually, the warning signs were there, at least for the "victim"--loss of passion and interest; increasing discouragement and fatigue; and, worst of all, the gradual disappearance of time alone with God--but the active-motion life, the seeming urgency of keeping up with all that "needed" to be done "for God," had become so central to life that it eclipsed everything else. Even the need for paying direct attention to the God Whom all this was supposedly being done for.
I'm not the first to observe that our "work for God" often crowds out our love for Him. How would you feel about having a child who always chose "getting things done" over spending time with you, on the insistence that he only wanted to make you proud of him, to prove himself worthy of you? Wouldn't you say, "Sweetheart, you don't have to prove anything to me. I love you and just want to be with you"?
There's no question that God has tasks for us to do. But too few of us recognize the vital interrelation between doing His work and listening for His voice.
God's good things come to those who wait--
Those trained in being still,
Who tune their minds to things of Christ,
And seek to learn His will.
God's good things come to those who work--
Those serving in His name,
Who seek His will above all else,
And feel the Spirit's flame.
To wait for God is still His work
When done with fervent prayer;
To work for God is still to wait,
As rush is never there.
To do His will as He commands--
To let Him set the pace--
Means work and rest are done for Him,
Each in its proper place.
Our Lord is never in a rush,
Nor is He ever late.
Our Father guides us step by step;
We work, and yet we wait.
Lord, let us never run ahead,
Nor drag our feet behind
The mission You have set for us,
Which through Your grace we find!
Christians who are surer of God's specific call on their lives often suffer a different problem: call it "crash and burn syndrome." Typically, it hits those who embark on a ministry with great promise; achieve one "great work" after another at first; then, when everyone least expects it, seem to drop overnight into severe depression, or, worse, sin. Usually, the warning signs were there, at least for the "victim"--loss of passion and interest; increasing discouragement and fatigue; and, worst of all, the gradual disappearance of time alone with God--but the active-motion life, the seeming urgency of keeping up with all that "needed" to be done "for God," had become so central to life that it eclipsed everything else. Even the need for paying direct attention to the God Whom all this was supposedly being done for.
I'm not the first to observe that our "work for God" often crowds out our love for Him. How would you feel about having a child who always chose "getting things done" over spending time with you, on the insistence that he only wanted to make you proud of him, to prove himself worthy of you? Wouldn't you say, "Sweetheart, you don't have to prove anything to me. I love you and just want to be with you"?
There's no question that God has tasks for us to do. But too few of us recognize the vital interrelation between doing His work and listening for His voice.
God's good things come to those who wait--
Those trained in being still,
Who tune their minds to things of Christ,
And seek to learn His will.
God's good things come to those who work--
Those serving in His name,
Who seek His will above all else,
And feel the Spirit's flame.
To wait for God is still His work
When done with fervent prayer;
To work for God is still to wait,
As rush is never there.
To do His will as He commands--
To let Him set the pace--
Means work and rest are done for Him,
Each in its proper place.
Our Lord is never in a rush,
Nor is He ever late.
Our Father guides us step by step;
We work, and yet we wait.
Lord, let us never run ahead,
Nor drag our feet behind
The mission You have set for us,
Which through Your grace we find!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Pauses
My computer is several years old and has turned into a chronic slow loader--and the thoughts that frequently go through my head while a Web page drags its heels reaching "usability" stage aren't fit to publish in a Christian blog, or even a PG-rated secular one.
Many of us do little better when fellow human beings fail to give us what we want instantly. We fume when the waiter takes ten minutes to bring a second glass of water; rap on the counter instead of waiting for the sales clerk to glance our way; tell the customer service representative what we think of automated phone systems before getting into the original purpose of the call; blast the horn at drivers who stick to two miles below the speed limit; and, in our worst moments, actually scream, swear, and call names in public.
Not that we give our own selves much special consideration in the "hurry up" area. Many workers spend sixty or seventy or even ninety hours a week, fifty-two weeks a year, pushing themselves to beat out the guy in the next cubicle as Most Productive Worker. When these workaholics finally go home, they still find so many chores that need doing that they barely take time to eat or sleep.
For others, the problem isn't so much the number of hours worked as the fact that those hours are spent on nothing but work. You've perhaps seen people like that at your own office. They're the ones whose necks seem frozen in eyes-on-the-computer position, who stay in their chairs until you wonder if they wear diapers to avoid restroom breaks; who eat lunch with one hand while continuing to work with the other; and who are scandalized if you interrupt them with the tiniest unrelated-to-business matter. They're afraid to let go of their work lest it get away from them.
Paradoxically, more than one study has found that those who take frequent breaks actually get more done in the long run. The need for pauses seems to be built into Creation, from flowers closing their petals at night to the human heart resting between beats. The human desire to accomplish more by avoiding rest is older than the Ten Commandments--why else would the Sabbath command be included?--but like everything contrary to God's commands, it goes against the natural order and carries its own punishment if we insist we know better.
Perhaps our craving for personal control rather than God-control is the real reason we hate slowness: we're jealous of God's ability to generate instant results in anything. We ought to be more concerned about emulating His wisdom to know when those results are most desirable.
And we can only acquire that by pausing regularly to listen to Him.
Tasks of life are never-ending;
When we never pause or rest
Till our work at last is "finished,"
All our days are filled with stress.
God in wisdom gave the Sabbath
For a time to pause each week
So our hearts could find refreshment,
So our souls His way could seek.
Even in our days of working,
Let us pause from time to time
So our hearts can hear His leading,
So our souls His way can find.
Those who rush to "do God service"
Often run so fast and far
That they seek to lead their Leader;
He may not be where they are!
Though His pace seems slow to follow,
Yet our Lord will not delay;
Let Him, in His perfect timing,
Make all things complete someday!
Many of us do little better when fellow human beings fail to give us what we want instantly. We fume when the waiter takes ten minutes to bring a second glass of water; rap on the counter instead of waiting for the sales clerk to glance our way; tell the customer service representative what we think of automated phone systems before getting into the original purpose of the call; blast the horn at drivers who stick to two miles below the speed limit; and, in our worst moments, actually scream, swear, and call names in public.
Not that we give our own selves much special consideration in the "hurry up" area. Many workers spend sixty or seventy or even ninety hours a week, fifty-two weeks a year, pushing themselves to beat out the guy in the next cubicle as Most Productive Worker. When these workaholics finally go home, they still find so many chores that need doing that they barely take time to eat or sleep.
For others, the problem isn't so much the number of hours worked as the fact that those hours are spent on nothing but work. You've perhaps seen people like that at your own office. They're the ones whose necks seem frozen in eyes-on-the-computer position, who stay in their chairs until you wonder if they wear diapers to avoid restroom breaks; who eat lunch with one hand while continuing to work with the other; and who are scandalized if you interrupt them with the tiniest unrelated-to-business matter. They're afraid to let go of their work lest it get away from them.
Paradoxically, more than one study has found that those who take frequent breaks actually get more done in the long run. The need for pauses seems to be built into Creation, from flowers closing their petals at night to the human heart resting between beats. The human desire to accomplish more by avoiding rest is older than the Ten Commandments--why else would the Sabbath command be included?--but like everything contrary to God's commands, it goes against the natural order and carries its own punishment if we insist we know better.
Perhaps our craving for personal control rather than God-control is the real reason we hate slowness: we're jealous of God's ability to generate instant results in anything. We ought to be more concerned about emulating His wisdom to know when those results are most desirable.
And we can only acquire that by pausing regularly to listen to Him.
Tasks of life are never-ending;
When we never pause or rest
Till our work at last is "finished,"
All our days are filled with stress.
God in wisdom gave the Sabbath
For a time to pause each week
So our hearts could find refreshment,
So our souls His way could seek.
Even in our days of working,
Let us pause from time to time
So our hearts can hear His leading,
So our souls His way can find.
Those who rush to "do God service"
Often run so fast and far
That they seek to lead their Leader;
He may not be where they are!
Though His pace seems slow to follow,
Yet our Lord will not delay;
Let Him, in His perfect timing,
Make all things complete someday!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Ingratitude
A much-neglected Scripture passage is 1 Timothy 2:1-2: "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." Americans have turned their traditional right to question "all those in authority" into a pandemic of brutal authority-bashing. No boss or teacher escapes backbiting; disrespect for parents is actively encouraged in many a therapist's office; and the worst examples among clergy, law officers, and politicians are held up as standard. As for the highest authority in the land--the current President of the United States, and at least the two immediately before him, have been plagued nonstop with "impeach him" cries and with accusations of being everything evil up to and including the Antichrist.
(No, I don't want to argue any of these men's actual faults or fitness for the presidency. St. Paul wrote the 1 Timothy lines during the imperial reign of Nero, who made the worst of U. S. presidents look like saints.)
No one in authority, it seems, gets credit for good intentions. No one gets acknowledgement for positive accomplishments. Too many Christians' idea of prayer for authority stops at "remove him from office" or "change his mind [to correspond to my notion of what's right]"--the same way most of us "pray for" our enemies, which says a lot about how we regard authority figures. If they give us what we want when we want it, we take it for granted; if they don't, we believe only the worst about them.
Small wonder, with such attitudes toward human authority, that we treat the ultimate Authority no better. Eve swallowed whole the implication that God's command was a selfish attempt to keep her from the best option; Cain got angry enough to kill when God urged him to "do what is right"; Jacob turned swindler because he doubted God would keep His "you will be the head of your family" promise; the Israelites in the wilderness whined "God hates us" at every problem and inconvenience--the list continues through the Bible, through history, and up to the present day. The problem is rooted not only in mistrust but in ingratitude: if we really appreciated what God has already done for us, we wouldn't find it so hard to believe He cares enough to continue giving His best. If we weren't so distracted by schemes to obtain a bite of the forbidden fruit, we could be wholeheartedly enjoying the beauties of the garden.
Life will never get better until our attitudes do.
God gave manna to His children
Every day for years and years--
And they whined about the menu
Till they ate the bread of tears.
God sent Jesus to redeem us
From the power of death and hell--
And we whine for ease and riches,
Making life an empty shell.
We demand mere earthly treasures,
And pursue our fleshly schemes--
While God longs to give us blessings
Far beyond our wildest dreams.
Put aside your thankless whining;
Seek the Lord with joy and praise--
Only then will true contentment
Shower upon you all your days.
(No, I don't want to argue any of these men's actual faults or fitness for the presidency. St. Paul wrote the 1 Timothy lines during the imperial reign of Nero, who made the worst of U. S. presidents look like saints.)
No one in authority, it seems, gets credit for good intentions. No one gets acknowledgement for positive accomplishments. Too many Christians' idea of prayer for authority stops at "remove him from office" or "change his mind [to correspond to my notion of what's right]"--the same way most of us "pray for" our enemies, which says a lot about how we regard authority figures. If they give us what we want when we want it, we take it for granted; if they don't, we believe only the worst about them.
Small wonder, with such attitudes toward human authority, that we treat the ultimate Authority no better. Eve swallowed whole the implication that God's command was a selfish attempt to keep her from the best option; Cain got angry enough to kill when God urged him to "do what is right"; Jacob turned swindler because he doubted God would keep His "you will be the head of your family" promise; the Israelites in the wilderness whined "God hates us" at every problem and inconvenience--the list continues through the Bible, through history, and up to the present day. The problem is rooted not only in mistrust but in ingratitude: if we really appreciated what God has already done for us, we wouldn't find it so hard to believe He cares enough to continue giving His best. If we weren't so distracted by schemes to obtain a bite of the forbidden fruit, we could be wholeheartedly enjoying the beauties of the garden.
Life will never get better until our attitudes do.
God gave manna to His children
Every day for years and years--
And they whined about the menu
Till they ate the bread of tears.
God sent Jesus to redeem us
From the power of death and hell--
And we whine for ease and riches,
Making life an empty shell.
We demand mere earthly treasures,
And pursue our fleshly schemes--
While God longs to give us blessings
Far beyond our wildest dreams.
Put aside your thankless whining;
Seek the Lord with joy and praise--
Only then will true contentment
Shower upon you all your days.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Rest for the Soul
Among "modern-world" Christians, one of the best-known--and least-followed--passages of Scripture is Jesus's words in Matthew 11:28-30: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Most of us are willing enough to "come to Him" for relief from our burdens--until we realize that He wants to take not only away the frustration of those burdens, but also the idols that frustration feeds on: our dependence on our dreams, earthly riches, and feelings of accomplishment. The actual dreams and riches may or may not have to go with the dependence, but we always fear they will--and that we'll lose a part of ourselves with them. The thought is terrifying to contemplate. As with the cancer patient who's been told it's her breast or her life, we suddenly start wondering if maybe the Physician was mistaken, or if we misunderstood what He said, or if just maybe we can cure ourselves with alternate treatment. Or even if we wouldn't rather die after all.
We were hoping to dictate at least some of our own terms. Instead we get the clear statement, "I can't help you unless you let Me take over completely." And as the full impact of that sinks in, it all but deafens us to His next words, "but what you receive in return will be so much better that you'll never miss what you give up." Even as we hear that assurance, we want to protest, "Yes, but then why can't You give me the better part first so I can let go of the old without feeling any pain at all?"
Perhaps because we could never realize the full joy of the better part without feeling the pain first. Rest is sweetest when exhaustion is genuine.
I heard the Savior say,
“Come now to Me and rest:
Set aside your burdening load,
Learn from Me what way is best.”
I gave the Lord my load,
I took His yoke on me,
And I learned, that by His grace,
Weary hearts can be made free.
I heard the Savior say,
“You carry far too much;
Trade the load you bear for Mine,
And receive My gentle touch.”
I gave the Lord my load,
I put my trust in Him,
And I learned the humble heart
Soon is filled up to the brim.
I heard the Savior say,
“Friend, put your trust in Me:
I will give your soul true rest,
And will set your spirit free.”
I gave the Lord my load,
I took His own for mine,
And I found that new load light
In the power of Love Divine.
Most of us are willing enough to "come to Him" for relief from our burdens--until we realize that He wants to take not only away the frustration of those burdens, but also the idols that frustration feeds on: our dependence on our dreams, earthly riches, and feelings of accomplishment. The actual dreams and riches may or may not have to go with the dependence, but we always fear they will--and that we'll lose a part of ourselves with them. The thought is terrifying to contemplate. As with the cancer patient who's been told it's her breast or her life, we suddenly start wondering if maybe the Physician was mistaken, or if we misunderstood what He said, or if just maybe we can cure ourselves with alternate treatment. Or even if we wouldn't rather die after all.
We were hoping to dictate at least some of our own terms. Instead we get the clear statement, "I can't help you unless you let Me take over completely." And as the full impact of that sinks in, it all but deafens us to His next words, "but what you receive in return will be so much better that you'll never miss what you give up." Even as we hear that assurance, we want to protest, "Yes, but then why can't You give me the better part first so I can let go of the old without feeling any pain at all?"
Perhaps because we could never realize the full joy of the better part without feeling the pain first. Rest is sweetest when exhaustion is genuine.
I heard the Savior say,
“Come now to Me and rest:
Set aside your burdening load,
Learn from Me what way is best.”
I gave the Lord my load,
I took His yoke on me,
And I learned, that by His grace,
Weary hearts can be made free.
I heard the Savior say,
“You carry far too much;
Trade the load you bear for Mine,
And receive My gentle touch.”
I gave the Lord my load,
I put my trust in Him,
And I learned the humble heart
Soon is filled up to the brim.
I heard the Savior say,
“Friend, put your trust in Me:
I will give your soul true rest,
And will set your spirit free.”
I gave the Lord my load,
I took His own for mine,
And I found that new load light
In the power of Love Divine.
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