So Busy Doing, We’re Getting Nothing Done

“Don’t just stand there – do something!” When’s the last time you heard someone say that? You’ve probably said it yourself. Even when we’re on vacation, we typically feel the need to be engaged in some form of activity. What good’s a vacation if we’re not doing anything, right?

 

We fill our lifestyles with action verbs, and that’s reflective of our society. For centuries, we’ve prided ourselves on “pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps.” By the way, have you ever tried that? It’s not as easy as it sounds, given the pull of gravity and all. 

 

Decades ago Frank Sinatra enthralled his fans by singing, “I Did It My Way.” I’ve tried that many times myself; too often I’ve then fretted, “Now what have I done?!” But when facing a crisis, dealing with worry, or just at a perplexing juncture in our lives, we think the solution is to do something. Anything. Even if it’s the wrong thing to do. Better than nothing.

 

Lest we think this is some uniquely American thing, or even a 21^stcentury thing, it’s not. Apparently, this human tendency has spanned the ages. We see it in the biblical account of the sisters Mary and Martha, when Jesus paid them a visit:

“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’” (Luke 10:38-42).

 

Of these two sisters, which do you identify with the most? Many of us would side with Martha. After all, this visit might have been unanticipated, so there was much to do to extend proper hospitality to Jesus and His followers. Why shouldn’t Martha be aggravated to see her sister, Mary, sitting there, just listening to what Jesus had to say?

 

Except, with a soft but direct rebuke, Jesus gave Martha a lesson in priorities. Mary, apparently sensing a unique, even once in a lifetime opportunity to sit and soak up the wonderful things Jesus had to say, decided the necessary busy work could wait. The Lord seemed to agree.

 

“Yeah, but…!” Certainly the two women didn’t already have a four-course meal awaiting, just in case some special, unexpected guests came by. Surely Jesus didn’t send a text, or an email, to give them advance notice of His arrival with some friends. Showing proper hospitality was important in their culture, so there was work to be done – and someone had to do it.

 

All true, but from Jesus’ own lips we read His caution about confusing the important with the urgent. This comes to mind because many of us sense an urgency for our nation. We seem at an unprecedented crossroads politically, morally and most of all, spiritually. Time for action!

 

Starting in just a few days, a 10-day event (Sept. 18-28) called “The Return” will seek to awaken many minds, hearts and spirits. Perhaps even be used by God to usher in a revival that would sweep across every strata of society. Central to this event, sponsored by numerous Christian leaders, will be a “sacred assembly” Saturday, Sept. 26 on the Washington Mall in our nation’s capital.

 

This is doing something, right? Moving into action, right? Yes, and no. I’m reminded of the most impactful psalm in my life, Psalm 37. It underscores the importance of balance, that there’s a time to be a Martha, but also a time to be a Mary.

 

The psalm starts off with the active verbs we like so well, such as “Do not fret,” “trust in the Lord,” “do good,” “delight yourself in the Lord,” “commit your way to the Lord,” and “trust in him” (Psalm 37:1-5). But then, just as we’re about to charge into the sunset, eager to be doing the Lord’s work, we read words that seem almost like shouting “Whoa!” to a galloping horse. It says, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him…” (Psalm 37:7). Oh, man! Then, perhaps for emphasis or in case we missed it the first time, we’re told, “Wait for the Lord and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it” (Psalm 37:34).

 

In a later psalm we find a similar admonition: “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10). What’s up with all this waiting, and being still? Doesn’t the Lord understand the time is now, and something must be done?

 

I have no doubt He understands. And perhaps, if the family of faith really gets serious about this call back to the fundamental truths, values and virtues that have undergirded our nation since its founding, God will do some great things. Maybe even “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,” as Ephesians 3:20 declares. But the key is the last portion of that verse: “according to his power that is at work in us.”

 

Too often we launch into campaigns and enterprises and missions, determined to do good things for God, forgetting that if He’s not in the middle of them, our best efforts will fall flat. So I think the premise of “The Return” is great. But the most important thing we can do, the greatest work we can perform, is the hard work of prayer. As we are abiding in the One who empowers us to carry out His will.

 

As Jesus said, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7). Because when we’re engaged in a spiritual war – which we are – we’re instructed to put on the full armor of God, as described in Ephesians 6:10-18. And the most important piece of the armor is prayer: “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit” (verse 18). 

 

We don’t need to wait until Sept. 18 to start praying, and we definitely don’t need to cease praying on Sept. 26. Without question, God is able. But for whatever reason, He usually chooses to do His best work in response to the faithful, fervent prayers of His people. Let’s not get so caught up in the busy work that we become like Martha and forget, as Jesus said, to choose what is better. 

Going Fast . . . Or Far?

The late Frank Sinatra sang many famous songs during his more than 60-year career as an entertainer, but one of the most memorable is “My Way,” which he released in 1969. Today, more than four decades later, it seems many people embrace “I did it my way” as their personal motto.

There’s a lot to be said about individual achievement – the resolve, determination, perseverance and single-mindedness often involved in attaining lofty goals and aspirations. In a sense, the Declaration of Independence set the stage for this philosophy when the leaders of 13 colonies agreed in 1776 it was time to “do it their way,” apart from England, by forming the United States.

But there also are limitations to individual initiative. I was reminded of this while viewing the film, “The Good Lie,” the story of a small group of Sudanese refugees who fled tyranny in their homeland and ultimately found a new home for themselves in Kansas City, Mo. At the conclusion of the movie, an African proverb was displayed that well-summarized their amazing pilgrimage:

“If you want to go fast, go alone.

If you want to go far, go together.”

In sports, and much of life, we can achieve much
more together than we can on our own.

We see the truth of this adage exhibited in every area of endeavor. Where would comedian Bud Abbott have been without his sidekick, Lou Costello? What would Orville Wright have accomplished without the aid of his brother, Wilbur? Working out of a one-car garage, William Hewlett and David Packard teamed with others to form a company, Hewlett-Packard, that one day would become the world’s leader in manufacturing personal computers.

In track and field, we see sprinters competing on their own, but usually in longer events, groups of runners compete together, sometimes as teams. We see stock car drivers maneuvering their cars at high speeds on their own, but if you’re traveling on a commercial jet from coast to coast, you want a crew of people in the cockpit.

We may never achieve the notoriety of famous entertainers, athletes or entrepreneurs, but we’d all be wise to approach life from a “we did it our way” perspective than the standoffish “my way.” This truth is expressed repeatedly throughout the Bible, a clear warning against going it alone, urging us instead to seek support, encouragement and strength from one another.

Proverbs 27:17 declares, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man (woman) sharpens another.” In another of the so-called “wisdom books,” King Solomon of Israel observes,

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!... Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).

Ironically, it was when they failed to heed this advice that Solomon and his father, King David, suffered their greatest failures.

The spiritual life, I’ve discovered, also proves the “go fast, go alone…go far, go together” principle. People make professions of faith and appear to be making rapid progress spiritually, but because they don't connect with other believers, their growth eventually stagnates and over time they disappear from the scene entirely.

This is one reason we’re admonished, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another…” (Hebrews 10:24-25).

The Bible describes those who follow Jesus Christ as the “body of believers” – “you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27). Just as even healthy human organs will die apart from the body, the most determined, well-intentioned believers will flounder without consistent fellowship with other devoted followers of Christ.

So if your goal personally, professionally or spiritually is simply to go fast, you can try going on your own. But if you want to go far, enduring for the long haul, going together with others is the better plan.