Timing Isn’t Everything, But It’s Important

The adage informs us that “timing is everything.” I’m sure there’s quite a bit of truth to that, but sometimes it gets a bit confusing.

 

For instance, we’ve probably all experienced being in the right place at the right time. I remember applying for a job once just as the previous editor of the newspaper had resigned. My timing couldn’t have been better. It turned out to be a great job for me, a giant step along my career path.

 

However, we also hear about people being at the right place at the wrong time. Does that mean arriving at the right airport gate, but five minutes after the plane had begun to taxi down the runway? Or applying for a job right after it's been filled?

 

We often hear about people being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Tragic crimes that happen outside a bar at 2:30 in the morning come immediately to mind. Wrong place – and definitely the wrong time. But what about being at the wrong place at the right time? Is there ever a right time to be at the wrong place? 

 

I’ve been pondering the whole timing is everything thing. Especially concerning our relationship with God. Take, for example, the account of Jesus; His friend Lazarus, who was gravely ill; and his sisters, Mary and Martha. In John 11 it says, “the sisters sent word to Jesus, ‘Lord, the one you love is sick.’” By this time, Jesus’ healing powers were well-known, so the sisters obviously were begging for help.

Did Jesus tell His followers, “Drop everything, guys, Lazarus is really sick. We need to go assist him immediately”? Nope. Instead, Jesus responded, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Then, even though He fully understood the sisters’ distress and their urgent plea, the passage says, “He stayed where He was two more days.” 

 

Wow! The first time I read this passage, it made me think of the sarcastic EMT who quipped, “When seconds count, we’re only minutes away!” But Jesus knew what He was doing. He wasn’t uncaring, nor was He indifferent. He had a plan.

 

After the two days He announced, “Let us go back to Judea…. Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up.” His disciples, often a clueless bunch, shrugged their shoulders. “‘Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.’” So Jesus clarified the situation:“Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 

 

If you’re familiar with the “rest of the story,” Jesus arrived after Lazarus had already been in his tomb for four days. The two sisters separately ran to greet him, but both declared, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” He went to the tomb and, observing the grief of the sisters and Lazarus’s other family members and friends, did what’s described by the Bible’s shortest verse: “Jesus wept.”

 

However, His tears were not in mourning for his deceased friend; they reflected the empathy He felt for those who grieved, and also for the pain of a world ravaged by sin. Because Jesus’ next step was to raise Lazarus from the dead, stating why He had waited to respond: “…that they may believe that [God the Father] sent Me.”

 

Even though this story happened 2,000 years ago, there’s much we can learn from it for today. It’s not just about Jesus’ miraculous powers, although that’s significant enough. It also dramatically demonstrates why God’s timing frequently isn’t the same as ours.

 

We pray for the healing of a diseased loved one, implying, “and right now, please.” Or we pray to find a job – or a new one – and wonder why the Lord seems so slow in answering. We pray about a difficult marriage, broken relationships, or financial struggles, and fret because God doesn’t seem to be paying attention.

 

If the Lord were to explain to us at those moments – and He’s under no obligation to explain anything He does – He might indeed say, “Timing is everything.” He may be ordering circumstances to provide us with an answer that surpasses what we were asking for, because He is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20).

 

God also might be timing His response so that when it comes, there can be no doubt that He is the source of the solution. In the passage about Jesus and Lazarus, the Lord told Mary, Martha and His other followers, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” (John 11:40).

 

We were created to love the Lord, to trust Him, and as an opening statement from the old Westminster Confession says, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” Since this doesn’t come to us naturally, sometimes the best way He can teach this to us is through His divine and perfect timing. Even Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection took place “at just the right time” (Romans 5:6).

 

So as we consider whether “timing is everything,” we can trust that the God who knows everything also knows the right timing. 

The First One to Know Was … a Woman

Over the next several days, we’ll be observing Good Friday and Easter, commemorating the two most pivotal, critical days in Christendom. Without both of these days, we would have no reason for Christmas, or even Lent or Ash Wednesday. Without the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and His resurrection from the dead, why would we care to celebrate His birth?

 

The implications of both Good Friday and Easter are almost limitless. And many pastors and theologians far more qualified than I have spoken and written eloquently about them. But as a firsthand beneficiary of Jesus’ sacrificial death and His resurrection – receiving forgiveness for my sins, an eternal relationship with God, a new life spiritually and the assurance of life after this one – there’s no way I can give these days a simple nod and then move on to some other topic.

 

However, with countless books, sermons, songs and even poems having been written about these holiest of holy days, with more surely to come, what is there to add to the discussion? Perhaps nothing, but there’s one aspect that’s not so often presented. It’s this: that the first person to know about Jesus’ triumph over death, and sin, was…a woman.

 

Matthew 28:1-10 tells about Mary Magdalene, a woman out of whom Jesus had cast out many demons, and “the other Mary” going to the tomb, planning to anoint the body with burial spices. Instead, they found the stone in front of the tomb rolled away, with no body inside, and only “an angel of the Lord” to greet them. “The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell the disciples….’ So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples….”

The gospels offer somewhat different eyewitness perspectives of what happened next, but in John 20:10-18 we read about Jesus meeting Mary of Magdala as she wept outside the tomb, still not comprehending what had occurred. Initially mistaking Him for the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you put him, and I will get him.” Then Jesus uttered one word: “‘Mary.’ She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means Teacher).” She knew indeed, as the angel had declared, “He is risen, just as He said.”

 

What’s the big deal about that? It’s especially significant for two reasons. First, in those days women in Israel had little value or status in society. We can complain about that all we want, saying how wrong it was to denigrate women, but it’s the historical truth. Yet, God chose to entrust a woman with the most important news in history. Second, and closely related, this quickly debunks the claim by some that in Christianity, women are devalued, treated as second-class citizens.

 

Jesus had many followers, with 12 disciples accompanying Him almost 24/7. One of them, Judas Iscariot, had hanged himself after betraying Jesus, but 11 of the men remained. Two of them, Peter and John, had run to the tomb to see for themselves that the tomb was empty. Why, in God’s sovereign plan, was a woman the first to not only find the empty tomb in which Jesus’ crucified body had been placed, but also to physically see the resurrected Christ?

 

I believe this was a purposeful, counter-cultural act designed to clearly demonstrate God’s equal value and love for both men and women. As it says in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you all are one in Christ Jesus.”

 

Looking at Jesus’ ministry, we see how women figured prominently in many ways. His earthly mother, Mary, was given the unique role of bringing the Christ Child into the world. Jesus’ first miracle, at the request of His mother, was turning water into wine at a wedding celebration. Sisters Mary and Martha were given special roles of service and given special honor. 

 

A woman regarded by all as “unclean” because of an “issue of blood” that had plagued her for 12 years, was miraculously healed by Jesus. Then He brought back to life the daughter of a synagogue leader, and later raised a widow’s dead son. When He encountered a Samaritan woman at a well near Sychar, Jesus told her all about her troubled past, and offered her unconditional forgiveness. 

 

Throughout His time on earth, Jesus gave inordinate attention to women in a society that regarded them as little more than property. His time started with a young woman named Mary, and His resurrection, signaling His atoning sacrifice for the sins of all who would receive Him as Savior and Lord, was first proclaimed by another Mary. In some respects, Jesus can be regarded as the first feminist. So it truly can and should be a happy Easter – for all!

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. 

Doing and Listening – Striking the Delicate Balance

There are all kinds of people in this world: Tall, short and somewhere in between; skinny and uh, not so skinny; of various colors and hues, ethnicities, interests and beliefs; loud and quiet; and, it seems, an ever-increasing number of other classifications.

But two primary groups span all of the other differences – those who do things and get things done, and those who spend most of their time talking about what should be done or what they intend to do.

In the Bible, we find those two distinctive types depicted vividly. For instance, we see the “Proverbs 31 woman,” an incredibly industrious person. Starting with the 10^th verse in the last chapter of Proverbs, this woman is described as, “a wife of noble character…worth far more than rubies.” 

Over the next 21 verses, the passage proceeds to list her activities and accomplishments. She “selects wool and flax…works with eager hands…. She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls.She considers a field and buys it…plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously…sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night…. She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.” It says everyone in her household is “clothed in scarlet. She makes coverings for her bed, she is clothed in fine linen and purple.” Whew!

More is said about this woman, possibly a specific individual or maybe a composite of what a godly, hard-working, determined person should be like. Entire books have been written about “Mrs. Proverbs 31” and her virtuous traits. But the passage then contrasts this woman with her spouse: “Her husband…respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land” (Proverbs 31:23). 

I wouldn’t say my wife and I match the two types perfectly – not hardly – but she’s a lot like “#31,” while I’m like the elders at the gate, sitting around, talking with great intensity, seeking to solve the problems of the world. While guys like this expend copious amounts of words, perhaps accomplishing little, the gals say in essence, “Enough of the talking already. Let’s do something.”

We see another example in the Scriptures of “do vs. talk about doing” personalities. Luke 10:38-41 introduces us to two sisters, Mary and Martha, during an impromptu visit they receive from Jesus. Mary, it says, sits at Jesus’ feet, listening intently to what He has to say. “Busy bee” Martha, however, becomes “distracted by all the preparations that made to be made.” 

Finally, in frustration Martha goes to Jesus and asks, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” In other words, she’s saying, “What’s up with this? While Mary’s chilling, absorbing Your pearls of wisdom, Lord, somebody’s got to make sure everyone has a nice hot meal. Help!”

Who can blame her? Think back to Mrs. Proverbs 31, who knew something had to get done. Rather than sitting around trying to figure out who should be doing it, she went ahead and did it. That fit Martha to a T. And Ecclesiastes 4:9 does say, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.”

But then Jesus has a strange response. He says, “Martha, Martha, 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 from her” (Luke 10:41). That’s it. End of story. If Martha has a comeback in this little conversation, the Bible doesn’t enlighten us on what she says.

So, what are we to make of all this? Seems to me the Scriptures are telling us there is a place for both types – at the proper time. In the business world, we find executives who plan meetings to discuss future meetings. In politics, we see many elected officials who wax eloquent with words, but aren't so abundant with their deeds. When all is said and done, they’ve said a whole lot more than they’ve done.

But as we read in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…a time to plant and a time to uproot…a time to tear down and a time to build…a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them…a time to be silent and a time to speak.” Just as we can err in devoting too much time to talking and listening, and not enough to working to accomplish things, other times we need to hit the “Pause” button, to “cease striving” as Psalm 46:10 says, and just listen, think and meditate. 

Especially when it comes to discerning what God is telling us and what He wants us to be doing. In its entirety, Psalm 46:10 says, “Cease striving and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Other translations put it, “Be still, and know that I am God.” We may be well-intended, but we can become so busy try to do for God that we impede what He wants to do in us and through us – all for His glory. 

We need to remember, He created and sustains the universe. The Lord doesn’t need our help. But He graciously allows us to participate in His work. The question for us is, “What is the work God has for us to participate in?” There’s a time to be a Martha. But there’s also a time for being a Mary. Our challenge is to have the wisdom, as Jesus said, to choose which is better for the moment.

Rebelling Against the Tyranny of the Urgent

Living in a culture of instant gratification, many of us march to the mindset, “Gotta have it – and gotta have it now!” There are advantages to this; Walking into a fast-food restaurant and not having to wait; being able to quickly find virtually anything on the Internet; being able to communicate to others without delay, whether by phone, text or instant message.

But as with many advantages in life, instant living has drawbacks. One of them is the increasing inability to distinguish the urgent from the truly important.

Days can fly by as urgent demands
crowd out important matters.

Years ago, Charles E. Hummel wrote an engaging little booklet, The Tyranny of the Urgent. He stated, “Your greatest danger is letting the urgent things crowd out the important.” This seemed cryptic the first time I read it. Aren’t urgent things always important?

For instance, if you get a call from your boss instructing you to do something immediately, isn’t that important? If your smartphone rings while you’re with loved ones or close friends, shouldn’t you check to see who’s calling?

As I pondered Hummel’s statement, however, I began to realize that indeed, urgent things are not always important – and important things aren’t always urgent. The challenge is learning to distinguish between the two, and then responding appropriately.

Another Hummel observation provided clarification: “There is an insidious tendency to neglect important tasks that do not have to be done today – or even this week.” At first glance this seems a tad confusing. If things don’t have to be done today, or this week, doesn’t that indicate they’re not all that important?

Once again, after a bit of thought, we start to understand what he meant. Sometimes urgent things also are important – if someone’s having a heart attack, they need immediate treatment. If there’s a fire, we must try to put it out. Or call 911. But if a friend asks us for a favor, that doesn’t mean we must drop everything to comply right then.

Many children’s trust has been shattered by promises repeatedly broken by parents because something “urgent” always seems to arise at the last minute. Or intended meetings with friends never happen because the “urgent” keeps snatching time from our schedules.

Having spent much of my working career reacting to deadlines, I know how easily the urgent can crowd out the important. Even now, I wrestle with the conflict between longer-term writing projects and more immediate, short-term tasks that “need” to be completed first.

In the Scriptures, we see an example of “urgent vs. important” in the lives of sisters Mary and Martha. The gospel of Luke gives a quick synopsis:

“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 few things are needed – or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her’” (Luke 10:38-41).

At first glance, it’s easy to side with Martha. There’s a meal to prepare. Things to be done. Martha was slaving away, while her sister was “chilling,” listening to what Jesus had to say. But as He often did, Jesus was using this for a teachable moment. The preparations preoccupying Martha’s attention could wait a few minutes. Time with Jesus, however, was a priceless moment that couldn’t be recaptured later.

Seems to me this “tyranny of the urgent” impedes our ability to establish and maintain a close, intimate walk with God. Hummel also wrote about this in his booklet: “But the root of all sin is self-sufficiency – independence from the rule of God. When we fail to wait prayerfully for God’s guidance and strength, we are saying with our actions, if not with our words, that we do not need him. How much of our service is actually a ‘going it alone’?” 

Psalm 37:7 admonishes, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.” This “resting” and “waiting” run counter to the instincts of our instant world, worshiping at the altar of the urgent. But if we’re to truly become all the Lord intends for us to be, we’ve got to discover how not to sacrifice the important on that altar. 

Like Mary and Martha, we need to discern what’s really needed – the better of two or more options. Is it really important, or is it just urgent?