“I have visited the large offices of wealthy donors, the crowded rooms of social service agencies, and the small houses of the poorest families. Remarkably, within this mosaic there is a universal refrain: I am so busy. It does not seem to matter if the people I speak with are doctors or day-care workers, shopkeepers or social workers, parents or teachers, nurses or lawyers, students or therapists, community activists or cooks…. As their work all piles endlessly upon itself, the whole experience of being alive begins to melt into one enormous obligation. It becomes the standard greeting everywhere: ‘I am so busy.’” Wayne Muller

“And something dies in us. Too much work, the British used to say, makes Jack a dull boy. But it’s worse than that. It numbs Jack, parches Jack, hardens Jack. It kills his heart. When we get too busy, everything becomes either a trudge or a scramble, the doldrums or sheer mayhem. We get bored with the familiar, threatened by the unfamiliar. Our capacity for both steadfastness and adventure shrivels. One measure for whether or not you’re rested enough … is to ask yourself this: How much do I care about the things I care about? When we lose concern for people, both the lost and the found, for the bride of Christ, for friendship, for truth and beauty and goodness; when we cease to laugh when our children laugh (and instead yell at them to quiet down) or weep when our spouses weep (and instead wish they didn’t get so emotional); when we hear news of trouble among our neighbors and our first thought is that we hope it isn’t going to involve us – when we stop caring about the things we care about – that’s a signal we’re too busy.” Mark Buchanan

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”
Hebrews 4:7

Moving From the Head to the Heart

• Does your life feel like “one enormous obligation?” Do you feel like a slave?
• Are you too busy and tired to “care about the things you care about?”
• Are you able to believe the good news that God wants to save you from such a life?
• If you’re not already keeping a Sabbath day, would you try it one week? for one month?

Abba, help me protect this day for myself – and my salvation.

For More: Sabbath by Wayne Muller