THE SCURRY MENTALITY

Ecclesiastes 1:1-3:22; 2 Corinthians 6:1-13; Psalm 46:1-11; Proverbs 22:15

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance….”

“For God says, ‘At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.’ Indeed, the ‘right time’ is now. Today is the day of salvation.”

“Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.”

“A youngster’s heart is filled with foolishness, but discipline will drive it far away.”

If there was any doubt I’d hit on something yesterday, Ecclesiastes’ first few chapters just confirmed it. Solomon may have been a self-proclaimed “Teacher,” but in these verses he teaches more about what not to do than what to do. One can feel his desperation grow as he flits like a moth to the flame, experimenting with one diversion then another, always trying to satisfy himself. How sad to have a life so filled with material blessings, worldly power, personal accomplishments and universal recognition yet still be so empty on the inside. Solomon certainly is right. He just never completed the sentence. All is vanity…, as long as one is focused exclusively on self.

But enough of that. Today, Solomon’s hyperactive quest for meaning has more to say to us.

As a young attorney, there was nothing I liked better than having my desk piled high with files and having a dozen more assignments than I could reasonably complete in a month. I’ll be honest. It was a rush. I felt important, possibly even indispensible. The hurrier I went, the behinder I got, but the adrenalin kept me alive and feeling vital. People needed me. I held fates in the balance. A sense of power coursed through my veins. I had arrived, brothers and sisters, and I was out to take on the world.

One day, though, a partner walked into my office, sat down and just watched as I “finished up a few things.” After about fifteen minutes, he uttered a single word that changed my life, “Stop.” Now, this was not just any old “Stop.” Writing cannot do it justice. But I felt it all the way down in my bones. It felt something like this:

“STOP!”

So, I did. And he began to talk, seriously. He let me know in no uncertain terms that quality mattered more than quantity. I was not helping anyone by churning out more sloppy work product than my peers. Worst of all, he said, I was exhausted and basically no good to anyone in that condition. Who knew? I had not even taken time to consider my personal life or situation. But as soon as he said it, I felt it. Total depletion.

“Tom,” he said more gently once he realized his words had sunk in, “You have got to give up the scurry mentality.” Answering the question in my eyes, he continued.  “You’re like a hamster in a cage, running on his wheel. He’s moving fast, alright, but he’s not getting anywhere. You’ve got to learn to pace yourself. Because this Firm will burn you up if you let it. Intensity is addictive. It will kill you unless you get your priorities straight.”

Personally, I think most people carry cell phones, text and Twitter for much the same reason I lost myself in my work. We are all too desperate to capture a sense of personal significance for ourselves. In the slow times and the silence, our essential humanness haunts us. We know our limitations, but we figure if we move fast enough, if others think we are vital enough, maybe no one will recognize our fundamental emptiness.

Even God rested on the seventh day. But then, He has no self-image problems. He knows He is complete. He does not need to worry about performance standards or what other people think. The thing is, neither do we. At least, we no longer have to obsess about whether we are important enough, powerful enough, liked enough or good enough. Christ answered all those questions from the Cross. Christians have the right and the ability to say no to our egos. Ego is, after all, a tank without a bottom. Only One can fill it. About all we can do is slow down and pray Jesus was serious when He told us to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven, and all the rest will be given unto us.