There has never been a generation on the earth that has been
so preoccupied with efficiency and “time-saving” devices. Most of the new
products we buy promise to make current tasks faster and more efficient. Yet
despite decades of innovation and the invention of many “time-saving” devices
we’ve rarely felt so time starved! I read recently of a study that indicated
that Americans talk about rest & sleep in similar ways that a hungry person
talks about food.
Writing in
the mid 90’s when pagers were in their heyday and before the advent of
smart-phones, Leland Ryken said, “time-saving devices have consumed our time
instead of freeing it up.” Now I am personally a fan of smart phones. My phone has increased my efficiency and
effectiveness – both for work & home. But I would not say that my phone is
a “time-saving” device in the pure sense that it has freed up some time for me.
Instead, I find myself doing more. And
to the bane of my one-track mind, I am “multi-tasking” more than ever.
In our day
work and leisure have blended. The advantage of a device like a smart-phone or
laptop is that you can work anytime and anywhere. Of course, being able to work
anytime and anywhere also means we can work all
the time from everywhere! The
lines between work & play are becoming blurred. While at work we can engage
in leisure activities like checking the news, Face book, or playing a game.
While playing, we can check our work emails, be reflecting on a problem at
work, or in other ways get things checked off our “to-do” list. The trouble is
that leisure and work have blended. And thus we neither work nor rest well.
Recently in
my personal time with the Lord I’ve been reading Ecclesiastes. The third
chapter begins:
ESV Ecclesiastes 3:1 For
everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 2
a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up
what is planted; ….
Could we add: “a time to work and a time to rest”? Perhaps
it is time to acknowledge that some things should not be multitasked. From my
experience, rest is ruined when I start multi-tasking. And my work efficiency
and effectiveness drop when I add elements of leisure into my work. Perhaps I
would actually feel less frantic if I did not check my work email during times
of rest and did not check my face book (or other leisure activity) during work?
I’m not trying to create a new rule or regulation for my life – rather I’m
attempting a mindset or attitude change: When at work – work! When at rest –
rest! Integrity should trump efficiency.
LeLand
Ryken in his book Redeeming the Time
wrote, “Today the confusion has deepened: we worship our work, work at our
play, and play at our worship.” Christ is our Lord. He is the Lord of our work,
our play & our worship. So let us live lives of integrity. Let us give
Christ our undivided attention – especially when we gather with the saints for
corporate worship. Then having gathered for worship, let us scatter to worship.
Giving glory to God in our work by giving our employer our best. And giving glory
to God in our play / rest knowing that Jesus Christ is Lord of the Sabbath.
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