5.) A hurried life numbs you to injustices that break God’s heart.
Hurry is a desensitizer, snuffing out moments of intimacy with life to the point that we get used to living day after day with little deep feeling. Kirk Jones
I was a pitcher in high school. When I pitched, my coach always told me not to worry about the crowd. Instead, he said to focus on locating my pitches. In the movie For the Love of the Game, Kevin Costner’s character called this “clearing the mechanism.” In other words, create a “tunnel vision” where you see nothing but the catcher behind home plate.
When your life moves at freeway speed, you have no time or energy to consider the world outside of your lane. You become desensitized or unaware of brokenness in the world. Your heart becomes calloused to the things that break God’s heart. The Syrian refugee crisis. The abortion of millions around the world. The heinous treatment of God’s people by ISIS.
God’s heart breaks for injustice and oppression. If your heart doesn’t break for the things that break God’s heart, it’s time to slow down and consider the world outside of your lane.
6.) A hurried life increases narrow-mindedness and legalism.
Superficiality is the curse of our age. Richard Foster
A hurried life promotes a shallow, narrow-minded understanding of God. Information is at your fingertips. Any podcast from almost any preacher can be accessed with a few clicks. You can purchase books with your phone. Type in any question, Google will answer it in seconds.
With all this information, you would think Christians would know more about God than ever. But that’s just the problem. Information teaches you ABOUT God. Information increases knowledge. But knowledge alone leads to legalism.
Truly knowing God requires discernment and wisdom. These grow incrementally through reflection, solitude, prayer and Christ-centered community. The difference between knowledge and wisdom is the difference between “God can’t work that way,” and “I can’t believe God worked that way.” It’s the difference between “either/or” and “both/and.” It’s the difference between the disciples, having minimal knowledge about God but recognizing Jesus when he approached them, and the Pharisees, having a wealth of knowledge but crucifying Jesus when he approached.
The Spirit’s upside-down ways are foreign to people living a hurried life.
Wisdom is slow. It can’t be microwaved or manufactured. Don’t expect to understand the upside-down movements of the Spirit if you move at the world’s speed.
7.) A hurried life clouds your purpose and diminishes your passion.
“Purpose” is a trendy word in today’s culture. It’s also more elusive than the Loch Ness Monster. “What is my purpose?” is one of the most popular questions I hear as a college/young adult pastor.
Many college and young adults consider their life’s purpose in this season because they’re choosing a career. And, in a hurried culture, your life’s purpose is determined by what you do. Your career. It’s all about what you can see. What you can hold.
But God’s idea of purpose isn’t about DOING. It’s about BECOMING. So, the ultimate question when considering your purpose isn’t, “What do you DO?” Instead, the question is, “Who are you BECOMING?”
God is concerned about who you’re BECOMING, not what you’re DOING.
You can do good things for God. But if those good things don’t flow from a relationship with God, discovering your purpose will feel a lot like looking for a two-legged unicorn.
So, think about these questions. Are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control increasing in your heart? Are you a man or woman of integrity? Are you trustworthy? Do the people who know you most respect you the most?
A hurried life looks externally for answers to life’s big questions. But a life at God’s pace looks internally for these answers.
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Your life’s pace matters. Unless you move at God’s speed, you won’t see the world through God’s lens. It’s time to slow down. It’s time to stop allowing Satan to drag you onto the freeway of ever-increasing speed.
I don’t believe God is impressed with exhaustion. He isn’t glorified when you take on so many responsibilities that your soul floods with unrest and discontentment. Feeling burnt out isn’t a badge of faithfulness.
Take your foot off the gas. Slow down. Your pace matters because the speed of your life reveals the driver of your soul. So, who’s behind the wheel of your life?
I love you all. To God be the glory forever. Amen!
