The Scripture Readings this Sunday are:
- Luke 9:53-62
- Mark 1:32-39
- Ephesians 5:15-17
Early Thoughts: In a busy world with so many demands on our time, how do we take care of ourselves? In a world of instant communication through texting and social media; in a world with a 24 hour news cycle, where we want to know all the details moments after it happened; in a world where people want answers not now but two minutes ago; is it allowable to put things off for a bit?
In the end it is all about priorities. Caring for ourselves, getting what needs to be done, meeting the needs around us all depend on priorities. As one colleague of mine used to be fond of saying (often after a meeting where everything was described as being a "high priority" item): "If everything is the top priority than nothing is the top priority". If we fail at the setting of priorities then we have set ourselves up for burn-out, and/or misplaced resources, and/or missed opportunities, and/or a whole other range of negative results.
As people who strive to follow Jesus, it is sometimes helpful to look there for a model. In our readings for this week Jesus is fairly clear about priorities. He challenges those who wish to follow him on what is important, he sets a priority to go and find time alone (self-care), he goes somewhere new even though there still appears to be work to do where he is.
As for procrastination, that too is a question about priorities. What looks like procrastination to one person may be taking time for self-care, or may be time for the brain to digest/mull over a topic to someone else. In the end it is about what gets accomplished (and on what timeline), less than how it gets accomplished. Procrastination can lead to difficulty of course, but sometimes it is needed if we are to do our best work.
And now, if you will excuse me, I need to go check Facebook, scroll through my Twitter feed, and maybe play a game or two...
--Gord
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