Fast, fast, fast

Be still, and that that I am God (Psalm 46:10).

We are living in an age of speed.  Electronic devices are always being pushed to operate faster. New television shows have to immediately find an audience or face cancellation. Advertisers constantly urge us to act quickly before a great shopping opportunity comes to an end.

We grumble at having to wait.  We don’t like being stuck in traffic or slowed by road construction.  We get antsy standing in line to check out at the store.  We get frustrated sitting in the waiting room when the doctor is running behind schedule. 

We want things to happen fast because of our own inner flaws.  We are impatient because we are selfish—we don’t like having to give up our time while waiting for others.  We panic easily—we get scared that something bad is happening, so we want immediate action: we want answers now, we want medical treatment now, we want a solution now.  And we get in a rush because we are over-committed—our schedules are full of things to do and places to be, with no wiggle-room for hold-ups or delays. 

Time is precious.  It is good to realize this and work at maximizing its use.  Time is a valuable resource that should not be carelessly wasted.  But when you’re in a frantic rush you don’t enjoy the time that God has given you, nor do you use it well.

Getting impatient results from our selfishness.  Jesus tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves.  If we embrace God’s love as a guiding principle of our lives, then we’ll start seeing other people with a sympathetic eye instead of viewing them as obstacles in our way.  Panic comes from being afraid.  God says, do not fear, for I am with you (Isaiah 41:10).  When we trust in God’s love and power, then we can wait with confidence for solutions to our problems.  And being overwhelmed by too many commitments results from getting our priorities wrong.   Our Lord says to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; then everything else that is necessary will be given to us as well. 

Using time efficiently is a good thing.  But when the need for speed takes over your life, it’s time to let off the accelerator and turn to Christ.