Motion without Movement
My wife and I sat together in the little table in the back of the Wendy's restaurant. Sometimes a quick lunch date is what you can get. As we enjoyed our bunless burgers (The joy of a low carb diet, eating a burger with a fork) I recounted the action of my day thus far. The day had been one filled with challenges and looked like the rest of the day would follow the pattern, so I had a lot to share.Anyone who knows me well, or has seen me speak in public, knows what happens when I start talking. My hands start to move...everywhere. I hold an iPad while preaching, and rather than cutting the hand motion in half, it just makes the free hand move twice as much.Ten minutes in to our meal, my Fitbit gave a little buzz to let me know I only needed a couple hundred steps to make the hourly goal. As anyone who has one knows, you promptly ignore those reminders. Five minutes later it buzzes again to let me know I achieved the goal.Without ever getting up from the table, somehow I accomplished walking a decent number of steps. At the end of the day, I wondered, how many of the steps recorded on this little device were steps, and how many were just Shaun's ridiculous gesticulations. Lots of motion doesn't always equate to lots of movement.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.1 Corinthians 9:24-27 ESV
In this life it's easy to get caught up in doing things. We see a thousand opportunities and we can try to take all of them. Add to that a million distractions, and we can get to be a right mess.One of my great joys is helping others learn to put together a clear speech/sermon/etc. The number one thing I emphasize is to pick one thing. Make a choice to communicate one truth, one idea, one action step the listener can walk away with. If you try to do more, the message will get muddy and your hearer will likely remember nothing but the funny story you shared at the beginning.The older I get, the more I want my life to speak a clear message. I want my life to be about one thing: The good news that though I am a sinner, God loved me so much he sent his only son to die to pay the price and then rise to bring me new life forevermore. I have found in the pursuit of that target, all of the other important things get done.When my last day comes and I look at the fitbit of my life, I don't want to wonder how much of my life was wasted in meaningless motion. I want to know that I did not run aimlessly or simply swing my fists at the air. To wake each day knowing the day has purposes beyond my understanding, to pursue something beyond myself, to chase down the greatest prize in the glory of God; this is my desire.I better get to it.By His Grace, For His Glory,Shaun