Too busy (9/20/04)

A couple months back, a list member e-mailed me the following - "Do a topic about 'Busy' being a four letter word". It's a great topic and one I need a lot of help with. If you're like me, you're busier than you'd like to be. In fact, some of you are so busy that it's stressing you out to think about reading this whole message. You opened this up, saw the length of the topic, and thought "I don't have time for this"...

Luke 10:38 - 42 reads: As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what He said. 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! "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Jesus says "only one thing is needed". It's so easy to let the small details of life crowd out the one truly important thing. And, just like Martha, it's easy to fool ourselves into thinking those small details are the important thing. We need to slow down, converse on a regular basis with God, and let Him prioritize our day. I can't recall who said the following but I think it might have been Saint Francis - "I have so much to get done today, I better spend an extra hour in prayer this morning". The author of this quote knew that the Lord is the answer to widdling down the to-do list. And in some cases, it isn't the to-do list that is stealing our time. It may be the TV or the internet or some other thing in our lives that crowds out the only one thing that is needed.

So this week we are praying about our busy-ness. We are praying that we regularly turn to God for help with our priorities. Let's all slow down and fast this Wednesday as we pray about this topic.

Have a great week and a great fast.
your brother,
Bob