Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God…”
We need a break from our busyness, from our hurry, from the speed we live life at. The book of Psalms gives us a word for that: selah. It means to pause, to listen, to consider the moment.
If you walk across a college campus today, you likely will notice people multitasking as they walk: texting, talking, reading, listening to something with their ear buds in. You’ll notice more people than ever drinking RedBull or smoking cigarettes… or doing both… no matter what time of day. They are consuming caffeine and nicotine, and both are stimulants.
We have an addiction to speed in our culture.
Dr. Richard Swenson explains that even our language reflects this addiction, including such words and phrases in our everyday communication and culture as time crunch, fast food, rush hour, and rapid transit. We send packages by Federal Express, use cell phones from Sprint, track business expenses with Quicken, diet with SlimFast, and wear bathing suits made by Speedo.
But the obsession with speed and efficiency—with now or never—and tasks and agendas and goals and accomplishments… it may actually be contrary to the life God desires for us. How do we know?
I’ve written about how I manage my to-do lists, writing down all the things I think I need to do today and rank-ordering them by importance… choosing the one thing I can and should do first, and the one thing after that. That’s also how we do finances, asking, “If I could only pay one bill this month, what would it be?” The mortgage would be number one. “If I could only pay one more thing, what would it be?” That would be utilities, number two.
And that’s the question the frustrated Jewish lawyer asked Jesus one day, recorded in Matthew 22:34. There are so many laws; there is so much to keep track of; there is so much to do. “If I can only keep one law today, Jesus,” he asked, “what must it be?”
Jesus’ answer probably wasn’t what he expected. It didn’t have anything to do with sacrifices, with tithes, with the work of the temple… “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” That’s number one.
It’s not about doing after all.
Today, selah. Slow down for a moment. Take a break from your busyness, your hurry, the speed you do life at—and pause, to listen, to wait, to love the Lord your God.
It’s the most important thing.
Selah.
Read more in this series: Walk: The Speed of Love, Margin, and Sabbath.