……….
The irony of unemployment is that I haven’t been this busy since I was in college.
A few months ago I wrote an article about 5 things to do while unemployed. One of the things to do while unemployed was volunteering. Now I’m not one to simply write about what you should do and not live out that principle. In fact, the whole point of R3 is to learn what it means to live out a life of faith. That’s why I find R3 to both be incredibly fulfilling and challenging all at the same time. While I’m not perfect I find writing publicly what I believe really forces me to follow through with my actions.
And volunteering is one area I’ve thrown myself into full force.
The challenge I’m facing right now is time management. The stuff I do involving R3 takes up quite a bit of time. There are the three weekly updates. I am also working on the finishing touches to R3’s first community guide. Plus there are a ton of side things I do with R3 like research, reading blogs, and twittering. (Yes, yes, I know, I’m not very good at twittering.)
On top of that I am looking for a job, creating content for another website called Meaning to Work, balancing two small groups, four serving ministries, and all the different friends I have made through all of those activities!
To put it simply there is a lot going on. And much of it is volunteer related.
But I am not alone. Most Americans live lives with this much activity. Little Johnny has soccer practice, Little Suzy has piano lessons. Mom has a meeting and Dad has softball. Sound familiar? As a people we tend to be overwhelmed by obligations, activities, and responsibilities. This time pressure has made us sensitive to “wasted time.”
What does this busyness do for our relationship with God?
A lot of times you’ll hear that it’s bad to be busy. And it can be. If you’re so focused in moving from one meeting to the next you’ll never live with enough urgency to have time to act when needed. But I think sometimes busyness gets a bad rap. There are good things that come with busyness. Busy people really are more likely to accomplish things. It’s easier to keep your momentum going forward, than it is to find momentum if you’re not doing anything. When you are on a schedule you’re more likely to use your time productively – however you define that.
It’s not as if slowing down somehow makes us less lazy. I can’t be the only one who when they don’t have much going on gravitates toward the TV than an interesting book.
But when I’m busy I know I have to choose between a book and TV. There is no “I’ll get to it later” because I don’t have the time for that. So I stay focused.
Time management is like so many things – it can be good or bad, healthy or unhealthy. What matters is where we put our time in relationship to God. Are we pursuing things that honor him? Are we pursuing things that build into our relationship with him? If we are, then even if we are busy that is a good thing. But the minute we become too busy for God, then there’s a problem.
So as so many people struggle with unemployement, don’t let this be an excuse to do nothing. Go out and volunteer. Get engaged in your communities. But don’t let this become an excuse to become so busy you forget about God.
how far we’ve come
Posted by e. barrett | Posted on 04-01-2010
Category : bible, choice, faith, living a life of faith, reader comments, taking action
Tags: bible, Bible study, choice, examen.me, faith, living a life of faith, R3, taking action
It’s hard to believe that R3 is entering its 4th year! (well technically “calendar year,” R3’s anniversary is in a few months). I never dreamed that I had enough to say to generate three posts a week. I find it amazing that I can do that. But that’s not the only thing that makes this 4th year so remarkable. It wasn’t that long ago that blogging didn’t exist.
Think about that one for a while!
The internet has been a great technology for growing people’s relationships with God. There is no other technology that allows someone to write in their spare time in Kansas but influence Christians in Australia, Indonesia, or even China. Or someone from Africa to influence people in Europe or America. The internet has had a profound impact on living a life of faith.
While religion blogging is dominated by several “big name” bloggers there has been more than enough room for smaller writers to develop a community. There are so many talented writers that I could spend an entire day simply surfing the internet reading. Now if only someone would pay me to do that…
But blogging isn’t the only change.
How we study the Bible has also changed. I can easily pull up Bible verses and do keyword searches online. If you own an iPhone you can download Bible apps and get the same thing. Never before has the Bible been so easy to access. While I still read a paper version of the Bible every day, I rarely use it for quick searches or to look things up. It just takes too long. Digital is the way to go.
And still there is more change.
Even the way we do Bible studies is different. There are online studies on hundreds of topics. Churches are giving away much of their own materials away for free. And now there are “social sites” popping up like EXAMEN.me. All dedicated to providing high quality Bible studies and devotionals.
There has never been a better time to learn about living out a life of faith. There has never been a time where so much has been available to so many. And I, for one, can’t wait to see what the future holds.
As we go into the New Year, here is my challenge to you: find a new way to study the Bible and follow it for the next 30 days. As you go through it, come back here and let us know how it’s going (I’m opening up the comments). Did it work? Was it a disaster? Did it revolutionize your life?