Faith in Progress

This past weekend I help a couple good friends re-roof their house. I spent all day Friday and Saturday taking the old roof off and putting the new one on. Despite the blisters, sore muscles, and smashed thumbs, it was an enjoyable time. There’s a part of me that has always enjoyed hard work and manual labor. I think growing up raising livestock and having good parents instilled some of those values in me. However, I’ve found myself really enjoying manual labor more and more the past couple years.

I think I enjoy manual labor so much because it is concrete. You work hard, things get done, and progress is visible. You could see how much of the old roof was gone by the end of Friday. And as the hours ticked by on Saturday you could see the progress with each new shingle laid. I’ve been drawn to manual labor more the past couple years because of the subjectivity of dealing with the spiritual lives of other people. Spirituality is anything but concrete, and you can’t always see visible signs of progress. There are many times I wish I could track the progress in a student’s heart of removing their old self and putting down new shingles of Christ in their life. Often after teaching a lesson, preaching, or having one-on-one conversations I’m not sure what progress is being made.

There are visible markers of a student’s spiritual progress; lifestyle changes, servant hood, baptism, church attendance, and others. That’s why James says “I will show you my faith by what I do.” But assessing a person’s heart is a subjective and unclear thing. I wish I could watch each shingle of faith being nailed down in a student’s life. While I’m not sure why God set up things that way, I realize it boils down to faith: Faith that God is working through me to reach students. Faith that Christ is bringing other people into their lives. Faith in the Holy Spirit to tug on their hearts. Faith in progress that I can’t always visibly see.

Busy.

Our world is incredibly busy. I am incredibly busy. Its frustrating, stressful, harmful to relationships and ourselves, yet we persist to function as busy people in a busy world. Maybe we have to keep up with everything, or we’ll get left behind. I don’t know. But I have been thinking a lot about business. Here’s just a couple thoughts:

Busy is the new “good”
When an acquaintance passes you and asks “how are you doing?” the rote response has always been “good.” Whether you really were good or not doesn’t matter, it was just the socially expected response. In the last few years I’ve heard more and more people (myself included) respond by answering “busy” instead of “good.” Busy has become the new good! Instead of an expectation of being good, we now have an expectation to be busy. If we’re not busy, then something is wrong. We’re not functioning at the appropriate frenzy level. Our reply about being busy is then met with affirmation by saying something like, “I know what you mean” or “let me tell you…” or “no kidding.” I wonder if our business becomes a badge of honor. The busier you are the more important you are.

Busy is the ultimate excuse
Whether you’re late, forgot to call someone, missed an assignment, or haven’t talked to a friend or family member, being busy is the standard excuse. We all have used it. “I’m so sorry, I’ve just been so busy lately.” You can’t really argue with that because we’re all busy and have been guilty of playing the busy card.

Busy is the new drug
One of the most common reasons to use drugs is to escape. Life is hard and facing your problems is not enjoyable. I think busyness has become the drug of choice. By over occupying our time we never have to face life’s unpleasantries. What a great escape.

These are just a few thoughts. I’m sure the list is much longer. Some questions I struggle with: How to manage your life in such a busy world? Where does God fit into my busy schedule? What do I do with the verse, “Be still and know I am God?”