I have a friend and student named Brittany who recently ran a marathon. More recently, her dad ran a half marathon, and she ran it with him. That, my friends, is a lot of running.
We get the term marathon from the Battle of Marathon. In about 490 BC, a man named Phidippides carried a vital message about this battle to Athens. As the story goes, he ran 26 miles in a remarkably short period of time after a battle. He brought the news and then died of exhaustion.
The historical accuracy of the story has been contested. But all of us can relate at some time or another to being exhausted, though not to the point of death. Our Western culture prides itself in being busy, being active, and being engaged.
But I have been thinking. Activity does not mean productivity. Busyness does not necessarily lead to godliness.
In other words, I can be very busy and yet be quite lazy. I can fill my life with things I do and fill my mind with information, and yet be of little use for the Kingdom of God. For example:
–A student can be busy doing a lot of things, filling his calendar with activity, when suddenly he realizes he has a paper due the next day and has written hardly a word. Busy doing many things, lazy about important things. I have been there, have you?
–A pastor spends many hours in his study preparing sermons. This is important work. Yet he never seems to find much time to talk to the lost about the gospel. Over time his important preparation can be hindered by a lack of awareness of the real needs of a lost world. But he is in his study at work!
–In my own life, I have realized the busyness of travel, while allowing me many opportunities of influence, teaching, and encouragement, actually takes away time to spend on the main aspect of my calling, the students with whom God has entrusted me. Further, the time I spend with students sometimes does not benefit the way it could.
Because I have been at this teaching thing for a while, I find myself at times losing focus. It is not intentional. It is not sometime that brings me joy. But because I have to some level figured out how to teach, I can easily get lazy at the very thing I have the most passion for in ministry. I can be busy at the task of teaching and yet be lazy.
This has become a source of great conviction lately, so much so that I recently committed to my pastor to spend at least 40 Sundays this next year at my home church. There are many reasons for this, but one is the opportunity it allows me to be engaged with mentoring and ministry to students who are not only in my classes, but are also at my local church. It also helps me to be more disciplined to get off the road and into the lives of more students. We have amazing students. Just this week I have spent time with many, and their stories push me and thrill me.
Just because I spend a lot of time with students does not mean I have conquered laziness. In fact, sometimes the fact that I am spending time doing what I love and what God has called me to do is the very source of my own sloth. What do I mean?
–I forget that the best way for a student to be taught and mentored is to have many mentors not just one. So I must be more careful not to monopolize students simply because I have a great relationship with them. There is a time to draw close to particular students, and a time to back away, and that does not always come at graduation. Sometimes my influence in key ways is for a season, and I must not lose focus on helping students learn from many, not just one.
–I forget to be very focused on doing things with students that matter for eternal good. I have on several occasions been involved with students in evangelism this semester, for instance, but I need to be much more involved in that. The only reason I am not is that I am too lazy to take the time to schedule such opportunities.
–I fail to remember that although I have many students with whom I meet and some with whom I connect and pour myself into at a greater depth, I can easily let that fact keep me from other students who could gain some value from spending time with a professor outside class. This means I simply need to be more aware of students and a little more focused to be a part of their lives when I can. Not paying attention often stems from laziness. I was humbled yesterday to hear a student of mine mention how he noticed many students come to me a lot. That is a sacred stewardship I do not want to waste.
I am really good at being busy and I am pretty good at spending time with students. I could be much, much better at focusing that time more wisely to invest in them in ways that matter for eternity.
When I get to the end of the race God has set before me, I do not want to fall over from exhaustion having only been busy. I want to be able to look back and see that I was focused, and helpful, to those I know. This week in several events I have reconnected with many former students. I hear their stories, I recall time I spent with them. I am not some great guru of knowledge; in fact there are many colleagues with whom I teach who are far brighter and much better teachers. But I know some students connect with this professor or that, and time spent with certain professors in my own education outside class proved invaluable. So while I am encouraged by the stories of former students I love who serve on the front lines of ministry, I am convicted that I easily become lazy simply because I am in a sea of students. I pray today for focus. I do not want only to be busy; I want to be effective.
A good word for me to hear, Doc.