What gets you to mash on the gas? To run, not walk. What gets you to turn off the TV, marshal all your forces, or move to the front of the line – even if you, like me, are a procrastinator?
There, I admitted it. I’m one of those people who dances with deadlines and lives by the motto, “Only do today what you can’t put off until tomorrow.”
But that doesn’t mean I never hurry. (After all, even the hare hurried when he woke up from his nap and found out he was losing to a tortoise.)
Yesterday I got a kick in the quick. It wasn’t so much a Jesus-jab in my procrastinating rear end as it was a moment of conviction that really captured my attention. More on that in a minute. As a result of God’s little attention-getter, I did some thinking. I’d like you to do the same: What do you hurry to do?
My Hurry Points
I found five things that get me to “grab a gear.” There are probably more, but here’s what I know so far:
1. Make Coffee. I don’t exactly fly to my Bunn, but I do go straight there in the morning.
2. Get to meetings on time. I HATE being early, but almost equally hate being late. If you and I have a meeting at 2:00, then 2:00 it is. 2:01, you get an apology.
3. Drive. Almost anywhere. Speed limits are like tithing – a good starting point. I do try to behave there, but a little alarm goes off in me when the light turns yellow or red.
4. Get to the movie theater in time to see the trailers. Ask my wife or movie friends. They think I’m ridiculous. I know some of you hate all the commercials before movies, and I do, too. But trailers are part of the art for me, and I want to see ‘em all. (Want to see the greatest trailer in history, IMHO? Click here.)
5. Move through Sunday morning pre-church stuff. If you catch me just before a service, I’ll probably be moving somewhere in a hurry. I really don’t like this one about myself, and feel convicted about the need to “move slowly through the people” (an important Christ-like quality).
Hurrying in the Bible
No surprise, you can find plenty of hurrying going on in the Bible.
- Some people hurry to do evil. God hates that.
- Paul was in a hurry to spread the gospel.
- Uzziah hurried out of the temple after entering the building with an unauthorized sacrifice. Unfortunately, he didn’t hurry fast enough.
- Lot hurried out of Sodom. Didn’t work out so well for his wife.
- Mephibosheth’s nurse hurried to escape danger and dropped the poor boy. He remained lame the rest of his life.
- Neco, king of Egypt, was ordered by God to make war in a hurry. Josiah, king of Judah, got in his way and was killed in the battle (2 Chronicles 35:21). There’s a lesson there.
- Mary hurried to visit her cousin Elizabeth to trade miraculous pregnancy stories (Luke 1:39).
- The shepherds hurried to find Jesus lying in the manger.
- Zacchaeus hurried out of the sycamore tree, at Jesus’ request, in order to host him. Boy, did that change everything.
- Ah, romance! Abraham’s servant hurried back to him with a bride for Isaac.
- Joseph hurried to get the news to Jacob that he was well and wanted him to come to Egypt.
- The Israelites memorialized hurrying forever (at God’s instruction). It’s called unleavened bread .
- God even commands us to be quick to hear and slow to speak.
My “Quicktion” Conviction
So here is my little hurry-up call, courtesy of the Holy Spirit yesterday:
I considered my ways
And turned my feet to Your testimonies.
I hastened and did not delay
To keep Your commandments.
Psalms 119:59-60
The psalmist hurried, without delay, to obey God. He didn’t assume that obedience to God was something to casually add to the list or take in stride. He didn’t even wait for the commercial. He moved it to the front of the line.
Wow. Didn’t see that coming.
Quick – what moves to the front of your line?
