Hurry is not OF the Devil; it IS the Devil

"In contemporary society our Adversary majors in three things: noise, hurry, and crowds.  If he can keep us engaged in 'muchness' and 'manyness,' he will rest satisfied.  Psychiatrist Carl Jung once remarked, 'Hurry is not of the Devil; it is the Devil.'"
~ Richard Foster

Years ago, a colleague (who was also my supervisor) once told me to "be productive."  It was right after I told her I'd spent three hours talking with one student.  It was a conversation that led to the student sharing some deeply personal issues with me -- issues that had been preventing the student from fully accepting God's love and forgiveness. 

"Be productive."  I guess a three-hour conversation with just one student might not be perceived as "productive."  In my colleague's defense, I know her statement wasn't meant to devalue the student in any way.  But it was meant to remind me that we live in a society that rewards productivity.  People who appear to be engaged in "muchness" and "manyness" are the productive ones.  They are accomplishing things.

"Be productive."  I've thought about that statement many times.  Is productivity really our goal?   What is it that we're trying to accomplish?  What does productivity really mean?  And to what end? 

Most of us live according to society's definition of productivity which is almost exclusively external. We want to be able to measure productivity and compare it to others.  We want something objective and concrete to show at the end of the day.  Numbers.  Charts.  Graphs. 


But how do you measure someone's soul?  How do you measure their spirit?  What does productivity look like from God's perspective?

Scripture certainly speaks to this issue.  To me it seems clear that God's idea of success and productivity is quite different from what our culture might suggest.  And yet what our culture most desperately needs is only found in what God can provide.  

"Our world is hungry for genuinely changed people.  Leo Tolstoy observes, 'Everybody thinks of changing humanity and nobody thinks of changing himself.'  Let us be among those who believe that the inner transformation of our lives is a goal worthy of our best effort."  ~Richard Foster

Do we truly value the inner transformation of our lives?  Or have we simply adopted the values of our society?  Do we reflect daily patterns that are different from the world around us, or have we just fallen in line with everyone else?

As followers of Jesus Christ, the inner transformation of our lives should be a goal worthy of our VERY BEST efforts.  And that means time spent in prayer and meditating on God's Word is very productive time. 

We need to redefine productivity. 

What if we decided that time spent in God's Presence was actually the most productive use of our time?  That time spent at the feet of Jesus was as valuable, as productive, as anything else we could do?  What if we valued the inner transformation of our souls above all other goals in life?


Our adversary, the devil, delights in the fact that we are too busy to notice our inner lives.  We are too busy to notice our emptiness.  Our Shepherd is calling us but we're surrounded by so much noise and activity that we can no longer hear His voice. 

During this Lenten season, let's redefine what it means to be productive.

Stop.  Listen.  The God of the Universe is speaking to us.