Are You Moving Too Fast?

by Bishop E. Earl Jenkins via Streaming Faith

"One who moves too hurriedly misses the way." Proverbs 19:2 (NRS)

John Ortberg writes: "When I first moved to Chicago I called a friend - the wisest spiritual man I know - and asked him, 'What do I need to do to be healthy spiritually?' He said, 'You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.' There was a long pause, and I finally said 'Okay.' I wrote that one down. 'Now, what else do you have to tell me, because I don't have much time and I want to get a lot of wisdom out of this conversation.'

He replied, 'There is nothing else. Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life. You can hardly do anything the way Jesus did it if you're in a hurry. Jesus was often busy, but never hurried. Hurry is an inward condition in which you're so frantic and preoccupied that you're unable to receive love from the Father, unable to be present with other people, or to give love to them.'"
Understand this: things will not just "settle down." If you wait to get around to what really matters, you'll never do what God made you to do! Your soul will wither. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life. Furthermore, no one else can do this for you - not your boss, your pastor, your spouse, your kids, or your best friend. You must do this for yourself.

Take a moment and ponder these two scriptures: (1) "The fear of the Lord leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble" (Pr 19:23 NIV). (2) "Desire without knowledge is not good, and the one who moves too hurriedly misses the way" (Pr 19:2 NRS).

© Bishop E. Earl Jenkins all rights reserved