That’s Not A Knife
I remember in one of my college classes reading about an expert testimony concerning time management that was presented to a Senate sub-committee in 1960. These experts said that because of advances in technology, within twenty years or so, people would be working shorter work weeks, or taking more vacations, or retiring sooner. The concern and challenge, according to the experts of the sixties, was what people in our generation would do with all of their free time.
I’m sure all of you are struggling right now with all your free time, right? In reality, most of us wish there were two or three of us or feel that there aren’t enough hours in the day. You’re trying to squeeze in all of the things you have scheduled and always rushing here and there.
A while back, I read the story of Tattoo, the basset hound. Tattoo didn’t intend to go for an evening run, but when his owner shut his leash in the car door and took off for a drive, Tattoo had no choice. A motorcycle officer named Terry Filbert noticed a passing vehicle with something that appeared to be dragging behind it. As he passed the vehicle, he saw Tattoo. Officer Filbert finally chased the car to a stop, and Tattoo was rescued -- but not before the dog reached a speed of twenty to twenty-five miles per hour and rolled over several times. He has not asked to go out for an evening walk for a long time.
For too many of you, your life feels just like that. Rush, rush, hurry, hurry. And sometimes you’re rolled and drug. The only difference between you and Tattoo is this: You have chosen your predicament.
I think most of us could dramatically improve the quality of our lives if we could somehow find a way to slow down. But this is not easy because most of us suffer from the highly contagious and often undiagnosed disease of “hurry sickness”.
Hurry Sickness: "the continuous struggle to accomplish or achieve more and more things or participate in more and more events in less and less time.
There is a song by the country group Alabama that says it pretty well: "I’m in a hurry to get things done, I rush and rush until life’s no fun, all I’ve really got to do is live and die but I’m in a hurry and I don’t know why."
We may not know why, but I’ll give you some symptoms of hurry sickness. You complain you don’t have enough hours in the day. At a stoplight, you get into the lane with the fewest cars. And if they don’t move the second the light turns green, you’re layin’ on the horn.
You use the same theory at the grocery store checkout lines, choosing the line with the fewest carts or the ones with the least number of items in their carts. And you fret and stew because some “idiot” got something without a price on it and the cashier needs a “price check”. So you’re blood pressure goes up as you move to another line.
Another symptom is “multi-tasking”. While driving you put on makeup, eat, drink, shave, talk on the phone, read the paper, and make those special gestures to other drivers who are going too slow in front of you. All because you don’t have enough time.
If you see yourself in any of these situations, well then, my friend, you have hurry sickness. The good news is, you’re not alone. The Bible is very clear that when Jesus was on this earth He dealt with every type of temptation that you and I go through on a daily basis. And there is clear evidence that Jesus Himself was tempted with hurry-sickness.
Think about it. Imagine having the power to perform physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. Everywhere Jesus went people demanded something of him. People chase him to the other side of the lake and bring people on mats for a healing. But over and over in the Bible, Jesus refused to be in a hurry. He just wouldn’t give in to it.
Running for a Jewish person was considered socially impolite behavior. A person running was both rare and unusual. The prodigal son’s father ran to meet him. The women ran from the tomb to the city. Peter and John ran back to the tomb. The people in our scripture ran to the other side.
Jesus is never mentioned as running, or even hurrying. Even when his good friend, Lazarus, was dying, he didn’t hurry.
One of the worst effects of this hurrying lifestyle is stress. The more we hurry, the more we get stuck in long lines, the more we get stuck behind people doing “the mall walk”, the more we worry about what we feel we must get done, the higher our stress level rises. We get “stressed out”.
I have a test that will help you determine if you are suffering from stress. Dave Gibbs and I have been having this discussion back and forth about my contention that I have no stress. After seeing this test, he understands that I have no stress. (show picture of cow and dolphin)
Seriously, if you look at the back of your bulletin, you will see a list of “stress factors”. Check each one that has affected you in the past year. Then add up your score. If it is 200 or more you are under excessive stress and it could have negative effects on your health. For the record, my score is 13.
Now, if you have “hurry sickness” and are under too much stress, you need to address it. You need to slow down, take a break. Even Jesus had to take a break from the constant interruptions and demands of the people. He had compassion for them, but he also needed to take a break sometimes. There is a lesson for us to learn here.
When we read about Jesus taking a break in the New Testament, what did he do? He usually went off to spend time with his Father. That’s what we need to do, as well. We need to spend time with the Father.
We need to slow down. We need to change our lifestyle. We need to learn to say “no”. We need to say “no” to some good things, so we can focus on the best things. We need to say “no” to some of the good things of the world that cause stress, so we can focus on the Father.
How do we deal with and reduce our stress? How do we get to the “unhurried” lifestyle that Jesus had in this passage and throughout his life?
The Bible tells us some ways on how to deal with stress.
Psalm 62:2 – “He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken.” Build upon the rock and you will have an unshakable foundation.
2 Sam. 22:7 – “But in my distress I cried out to the Lord……He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry reached his ears.” Talk to God. Tell him how stressed out you are and how pressured you feel.
Matt. 11:28-30 – “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” If the world’s beaten you down, God can give you a break. All you gotta do is ask.
John 14:1 – “Don’t be troubled. You trust God, now trust in Me.” 2 rules: 1. Don’t sweat the small stuff. 2. It’s all small stuff. It may seem humongous to you, but to God it’s small stuff. Trust him to handle it.
We need to remember that if we’re hurrying, worrying, and stressed out, then we’re not trusting in a greater power. This reminds me of the movie “Crocodile Dundee”. One of his catch-phrases in the movie was, “No worries”. Mick never was in a hurry. He never seemed too concerned about whatever situation he faced. There was one scene in the movie that illustrates this very well.
He and this lady reporter were walking in New York City and were confronted by muggers, one of whom was yielding this little switchblade about 3-4 inches long. The lady gets all nervous while he stands there with a little smile on his face.
She tells him to give them his wallet. Mick asks, “why?” She replies, “He’s got a knife.” He says, “That’s not a knife.” And he proceeds to reach behind his back and pull out this pig-sticker about 18 inches long, holds it up and says, That’s a knife.” And those guys take off running.
We need to take that sort of attitude with the stresses life throws at us and the hurry-sickness disease many of us have. Mick wasn’t stressed out by that guy with the knife or in a hurry to give up his wallet because he was trusting in a greater power; his bigger knife.
We don’t need a bigger knife, but we can trust in a greater power. A greater power that is always with us. When life confronts us with a little stress or starts making unrealistic demands of us, we just need to remember that our greater power, that we can trust in, went through these same pressures.
We can reduce our stress by making different choices. When driving, never go over the speed limit. In fact drive 2 or 3 MPH under it. The next time you get to a stoplight, get in the longest line. Same thing at the grocery store. Get in the long line, and then strike up a conversation with someone.
But most importantly, follow the example set by Jesus on how to deal with stress and hurry-sickness. Get away from the demands of the world and make sure you spend time with the Father.
