do something

We’ve all the heard the old expression, “don’t just sit there, do something!” It’s usually screamed during a part in the movie where some catastrophe just occurred. Without a doubt, some people are working their tails off to fix the problem and some are just sitting around watching. Sometimes it’s funny. Sometimes it’s terrifying.

One of my supervisors in seminary used to reverse that phrase. He used to tell us (and me, in particular) “don’t just do something, sit there.” An interesting idea, huh. Can you do that? I find it extraordinarily difficult. How easy or hard is it for you to sit in a room alone…with no music on and no phone in hand…with no television filling the void and no task to complete. I can take it for about 15 minutes, then I’m up doing again. It truly is difficult for me to stop doing and just be. And yet that is exactly what God has called me to.

I have a little sticky note in my office right in front of my face. I see it all the time. In fact, I see it so often I have to rewrite the note every now and then so I don’t take it for granted and/or ignore it. “Just BE.” That’s what it says. I need constant reminding of that. As I’ve heard said often times, God didn’t create human doings, but human beings. Why do we have such a preoccupation with doing? Why do we find it so hard to relinquish control and relax? Why are we all familiar and even comfortable with ideas such as a 50 plus hour work week, working lunches and even working vacations?!

Even in junior high I can vividly remember being taught about time management. The instructor was helping us to understand that time is a precious commodity. That there isn’t enough hours in a day to get things done. Is that true? Did God mess up when He started this planet spinning in it’s particular orbit? Was He supposed to give us 25 or 30 hours in a day and just forgot?

I love Seinfeld! If you cannot agree that it's one of the greatest television shows of all time...I will pray for you. Anyway, I was watching some behind-the-scenes stuff the other day and they were all talking about Jerry’s commitment to the show. He was on set 6 or even 7 days a week shooting and then spent his evenings there writing the next episodes. If you needed Jerry on a weekend, one NBC executive said, call the studio. His agent even said something like, “if anyone could figure out how to add more hours to a day, it was Jerry.” And they all spoke of this in glowing terms—as if Jerry were a hero for it. As if we all should strive to be that way. Oh, by the way, at the time he had no family, girlfriend or other responsibilities. The show, quite literally, was his life. That show is hilarious. But that fact is sad.

In her book Breathe, Kerrie Wyatt Kent makes this statement: “The pace of our lives has profound implications upon the depth of our lives.” She is absolutely right. I’m tired of doing so much. I want to just be. I crave a deep relationship with God, deep relationships with my family and deep relationships with friends. I hate the feeling of being shallow. I’m sick of playing the game and pretending that everything is great. I don't see any secret to this way of life. It's actually quite simple, but that doesn't make it easy. Put plainly, I must boldly refuse the constant, hectic pace. We battle against what Steven Covey calls "the tyranny of the urgent." But what does that look like? How exactly do I do that?

Gordon McDonald once said that our most unguarded strength is our greatest weakness. I’m a gifted leader. I’m a gifted pastor/teacher. I’m a gifted administrator. Those are my God-given strengths. If I allow them, however, they will drive me to burnout. One is never done leading or teaching or administrating. I can always find more to do. If I do not guard those gifts/strengths they will ruin me. If I don’t pace myself I will end up hating ministry. If I don’t stop doing and just sit there now and then I just may forget what this whole thing is about.

Don't just do something, sit there. Stop. Rest. Be.