By Elder Lynette Shek
I do not know about you, but I often feel hurried and harried with work, errands, obligations and unexpected demands on my time. I run from activity to activity, often multi-tasking to try and get everything done on time. There is little margin, which of course worsens the hurry and stress because I allow so little time to get to the next meeting, to church, and for meet-ups with friends.
Why are we so much in a hurry? Hurry has been defined as “A continuous struggle and unremitting attempt to accomplish or achieve more and more things or participate in more and more events in less and less time”. Sometimes that is for a good reason – we want to do more for God. However, we need to be reminded that we should not seek “works” - whether it is justice, evangelism, missions - before we seek God (Psalm 127:1-2). Sometimes the reasons for our hurry are questionable – we want that promotion, we want to be recognised, we want a higher income. Because we are achievement-focused or get our self-worth from achievements, we hurry to do more in less time. We compulsively overwork, engage in escapist behaviours, lack time to care for our bodies. We burn out.
What does constant hurry do to the body? Hurry keeps us in a “stressed” state, because our body has to get many things done. This means that our stress hormone levels (cortisol, adrenaline) are higher and we feel that we are “on the go” most of the time. This causes us to be irritable, restless, hypersensitive, and even angry.
What does constant hurry do to the soul? We end up neglecting God and the spiritual practices. Our priorities are out of order. We have little time for our families. Our souls do not feel rested. Ruth Haley Barton calls it “hurry sickness”. Dallas Willard famously said “Hurry is the greatest enemy of spiritual life in our day. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.” Corrie ten Boom agreed, saying “If the devil can’t make you do something wrong, he’ll make you busy”. A survey of 20,000 Christians found that busyness was a significant block to their relationship with God. Both sin and busyness have the same effect—they cut off your connection to God, to other people, and even to your own soul. Constant hurry hinders spiritual growth by disconnecting individuals from deeper aspects of life. It is a barrier to meaningful relationships, self-reflection, and a connection with a higher purpose.
I recently read the book titled “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” written by Pastor John Mark Comer. It became a New York Times bestseller, which shows that many people recognize hurry as a problem. What does the book say we should do?
First, we must recognize the problem and confront it. We need to realize that hurry is eating at our souls and we are missing out on love, joy and peace. Second, we need to accept our limitations. For me, as I get older, I realize that some things are harder for me to do and I need to accept that. Third, we have to know that our self-worth is not in what we achieve, but rooted in the fact that we are the beloved children of God. Fourth, we should prioritise spiritual practices in our lives. Pastor John recommends the practices of silence and solitude, sabbath, simplicity and slowing. In the past year, I have stepped down from a few leadership positions at work, I have sold some bicycles, bags and watches. The experience has been liberating.
John Ortberg said, “For many of us the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it. We will just skim our lives instead of actually living them.” Paul says in 1 Thess 4:11a that we should “make it your ambition to lead a quiet life”. Let us then make space for God by slowing down, spending time with Him and create space to breathe, and live fully, again.
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