Have you ever felt like your day could be described as being like a grain of sand in a whirlwind? Do you feel like you are always involved in work, but nothing seems to be accomplished? Can you find time for everything, but prayer and devotion time with your Lord Jesus? If any of these questions could be ascribed to you, then, odds are, you are way too busy!Not long after I turned sixteen years old, I had the honor of working with an aging mechanic named Mr. Grubbs. Looking back over the numerous years that I worked with him in his shop, I have been blessed by the many life lessons learned while working atop those wooden, oil stained floors. Of the many things I observed about Mr. Grubbs, one was that he did not get in a hurry because he wanted EVERY vehicle to be fixed the FIRST time. No Comebacks! In order to accomplish the “NO COMEBACK” rule, he had to take his time and not get TOO busy! Of course, we did have some vehicles returned to be repaired again, but not as many as other shops. Much gratification was drawn from this statistic!
A Biblical Example
Since beginning in the ministry a few years after my initial days working in that shop, I have noticed the virtue in being careful in not getting too busy. As you might surmise, it is easier said than done. At any rate, every pastor should be careful about being TOO busy to focus on the main things!
(Luke 10:38-42) “Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (KJV)
A classic Bible passage on this subject is found in Luke chapter ten. Jesus comes to Mary and Martha’s house. While there, Mary is more concerned about Jesus and what He was saying than what Martha was doing. When a pastor gets too busy, he can usually find himself more worried about what he is doing and getting done than what Jesus is saying. Jesus never denounced the fact that the work had to be done, he just admonished Martha about her way of accomplishing it.
Conclusion
Only you can answer the question, “Am I TOO Busy?” We certainly need to get our work done each and every day. Prioritizing the tasks at hand and delegating responsibility can help if we employ their use. The one thing I would stress in view of this post is that we should make sure that our private time with our Lord is adequate and of great quality. This is primary every day! After that, we should do what ONLYwe can do and try to encourage others to help carry out the rest. Rome was not built in a day and neither will a great ministry!
Would you consider purchasing…
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The Plight of Man and the Power of God |
By Martyn Lloyd-Jones / Christian Heritage
Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ preaching always had an emphasis on the desperate plight of man and the power of God to save. His preaching was crystal clear on the sovereignty of God in the salvation of sinners, a concept that does not sit comfortably in our day of pragmatism, programmes and self-help books. Nevertheless it remains at the core of what the world needs to hear. Based on Romans 1, this wonderful book will help you understand what the gospel is. When we live in a world that is spiralling out of control we will want to hear this message again and again.
