How many of you would say that you are busy? We almost feel obligated to stay busy, don’t we? If you meet someone at the grocery store or run into them at McDonald’s, and you ask them how they’re doing, almost invariably they’ll tell you how busy they are and start rattling off a list of activities -- and their children’s activities.
· Monday is pee-wee football, Tuesday is ballet, Wednesday is piano, Thursday is tae-kwon-do, Friday is swimming lessons, Saturday and Sunday are the soccer travelling team . . .
Americans are busier than ever. Let me give you an example. Dinner time. The "Leave it to Beaver" picture of the family sitting around a dinner table at six o’clock eating a home cooked meal has virtually disappeared.
· These days, when Mom calls, "dinner time!" the family doesn’t head for the dining room table, they head for the minivan. The percent of meals eaten away from home has increased from 16 to 29 percent since 1978.
· Almost no one takes a traditional "lunch hour" any more.
· Not only that, but we are increasingly eating meals while we are doing other things -- working, driving, watching television. We don’t eat, we graze.
How many consider yourselves to be too busy? How do you know if you’re too busy?
· No matter what you’re doing, you have a vague sense you ought to be doing something else.
· No matter how hard you work, you always feel like you’re behind.
· You feel like your spinning your wheels -- you get to the end of the week, and in spite of all your activity, you find yourself asking, "what have I really accomplished?"
Why do we feel so frazzled?
1. Erosion of boundaries (physical and temporal). Work is recreation is home.
The telecommunications revolution has made it possible for our work to "reach out and touch us" anytime, anywhere.
· Beepers / Cell phones - worn everywhere: cars, restaurants, ball games, grocery stores.
· Home computers - can’t help children with homework, because we’re doing our homework
· People now work from home, so there is no physical boundary between work and home
At the same time, we conduct personal business at work. Lunch hours are spent running errands. In the afternoon, we’re logging on to the web to order Christmas presents, book plane tickets.
Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily. But it does add to the feeling of busyness.
2. Explosion of choices. We now have more opportunities available to us than every before.
· When I was a boy, we had one sport at a time. Your choices were take it or leave it.
· More channels to watch
· More stuff to buy and sell -- ebay has made the whole world one giant Turkish bazaar.
· More activities to participate in, both in person and on-line. Internet gaming. Chat rooms.
· Office football pool vs. nationwide fantasy football leagues.
Is this a bad thing? Again, not necessarily. But the more opportunities and choices we have, the more we feel we’re losing out if we don’t get as much as we can. This is the "All you can eat" restaurant syndrome.
Backlash against "big box" stores. We don’t really want everything. We just want what’s best.
How can we find peace and rest in a world of nonstop activity?
1. Understand your purpose. Just because you can do something, it doesn’t mean it’s worth your time and energy. Just because you can have something, it doesn’t mean it’s worth your money. When you have clearly identified your purpose, you can focus on those things which are most important and say "no" without feeling guilty. Activity is not the same thing as accomplishment.
[Mark 1:32-38]
32. That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed.
33. The whole town gathered at the door,
34. and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.
35. Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
36. Simon and his companions went to look for him,
37. and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!"
38. Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else--to the nearby villages--so I can preach there also. That is why I have come."
Jesus willingly left a place where many people were clamoring to see him. He was a preacher, and there were many who wanted to hear his preaching. He was a healer, and there were many ready to be healed. And yet he left. Why? Wasn’t it worthwhile to teach and heal these people? Wasn’t this a good opportunity? Of course it was. But He had another purpose. His purpose was to spread the word throughout the whole region of Galilee, and he held to that purpose in spite of opportunities in other directions.
Do you have a purpose in life? Do you have a clear idea of what you are trying to accomplish in life? If not, then you will be dominated by the expectations and demands of others. You will be leading your life according to the opinions and judgments of your family, your neighbors, your friends, your co-workers. If you don’t have a clear purpose, then you will end up being directed by those who do. And you will look back at your life wondering what you really accomplished by all your busyness.
"I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do" -- John 17:4 (NIV)
What does Jesus mean by this? He hadn’t healed everyone. He hadn’t preached to everyone. He certainly hadn’t converted everyone. In just a little while, He would be arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. Most of his followers would abandon Him. He was only in His early thirties. He hadn’t accomplished everything that he could have. But He had accomplished what was most important.
Will you be able to say that? Will you be able to say that you completed the work God called you to do? Or will you only be able to say that you stayed busy?
This week, sit down with a blank piece of paper and write out what you really want to accomplish, what you consider to be most important in life. Are your activities helping you to achieve those goals? Then why are you doing them? Have you given any thought to whether your life honors God? Have you considered whether God may have something to say about your goals and purposes?
2. Set right priorities. It’s not enough just to have a clear purpose. You have to have the right priorities.
[Luke 10:38-42]
38. As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.
39. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.
40. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
41. "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things,
42. but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
Jesus does something amazing. He commends the "lazy" one and corrects the "industrious" one!
· Jesus doesn’t deny the legitimacy of Martha’s concern. He didn’t deny the value of eating and having a clean house. He didn’t deny that Mary had an obligation to assist Martha in the household chores. He doesn’t imply that Martha’s intentions were anything but good and right. She wanted to serve Christ.
In the same way, winning the battle over busyness doesn’t mean that we consider everything we are doing to be a waste of time. We may have the best intentions. Our schedule may be filled with good, important things. But are they the best things, the necessary things?
· Martha is seeking the approval of Christ through her own performance. "Look how much harder I’m working than Mary, Lord!" But the important thing, the "one necessary thing" in coming to Christ is not what we bring to Him, but what we receive from Him. Mary understood that.
· What is the "one thing that is needed"? It is hearing and receiving the word of Christ. It is listening to Him and obeying Him. His words are life.
· Jesus doesn’t condemn Martha. Instead, He gently encourages her to reassess her priorities.
- What were Martha’s priorities? What were Mary’s? Which is better? Why?
- What does your appointment book say about your priorities? Are they closer to Martha’s or to Mary’s? Are you "worried and upset about many things?" Or have you "chosen what is better"?
God doesn’t want to condemn you. He wants to free you from the tyranny of busyness so that you can give your time and energy to those things that have eternal value, that won’t fade away. He wants you, at the end of your life, to be able to look back and see that you have invested your years in something that will last forever. Only two things last forever: God and people.
Most of all, God wants you to know Him, to have a personal relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. That’s the only thing that’s really necessary in this life.
3. Chart a new path.
As always, the Word of God challenges us this morning. It challenges us to take stock of our schedules, our calendars, our day-timers, our lives. I urge you this week to stop and think. Examine how you’re spending your time. Ask yourself the same questions I’ve asked you. Pray and ask God to help you evaluate your life. What’s your purpose? What are your priorities? Do they match up with God’s Word?
If you find that you purpose and priorities need to be adjusted, I encourage you to chart a new course. Make changes that will give first priority to the only thing that is truly necessary -- Jesus Christ and His word.
(For an .rtf file of this and other sermons, see www.journeychurchonline.org/messages.htm)
