II Thessalonians 3:11 says, “We hear that some among you are idle. You are not busy; you are busybodies.” The Thessalonians had two strikes against them. They were idle. Burnout is over-extending yourself. Idleness is under-extending yourself. They weren’t being stretched spiritually. And Paul calls them “busybodies.” That word means “to busy oneself with useless and needless matters.” The Thessalonians were majoring in minors!
Life is a constant battle between the urgent and the important - those things that demand our attention and those things that deserve our attention. Stephen Covey says, “Anything less than a conscious commitment to the important is an unconscious commitment to the unimportant.” We need to keep the main thing the main thing. That’s what prioritizing is all about.
Legion
Luke 8 records a confrontation between Jesus and a demoniac. Jesus says, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he replied, “because many demons had gone into him.” A legion was a military regiment consisting of up to six thousand Roman soldiers. He was tormented by them day and night. Elizabeth O’Connor uses that passage to make a profound point. She says, “My name is ‘Legion’ is the plight of us all.” In a sense, this demoniac had to contend with six thousand competing voices. He was pulled in six thousand different directions. I think sometimes we feel the same way. We are pulled in so many different directions that we have nothing left for God or our families or ourselves!
When I was on vacation in Europe last December, I made a personal vow not to answer work emails unless necessary and not to think about work as far as I possibly could. Those things demand my attention, but for those three weeks I didn’t pay serious attention to my work. I didn't study to prepare sermons. I didn't spend time planning for the next process at the church. I did not have to run staff meetings or board meetings.
Instead, I spent my time enjoying sights and spending unhurried time with my family and the wonderful friends we visited in Europe. I chronicled my journey in my blog and uploaded my memories on Facebook. I did things that I really enjoyed doing and spend time with the people I enjoyed being with.
When I re-entered the routine of work after I got back, I had so much fresh energy and fresh perspective. That freshness is a natural by-product of retreating and re-entering. Jesus set the example. Read the gospels and you’ll find that he is always retreating and re-entering. He’s teaching the multitudes one minute and retreating the next. He’s up late ministering one night and retreating early the next morning. Jesus spends time up in the mountains, down by the lake, and out in the wilderness.
Mark 1:35 says, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: ‘Everyone is looking for you.’ But Jesus replied, ‘Let us go to somewhere else--to the nearby villages - so I can preach there also. That’s why I have come’.”
One of the greatest dangers we face is learning how and then forgetting why - we end up just going through the motions or doing the right things for the wrong reasons. Jesus re-identifies the “why” behind the what. He goes to nearby villages to preach. Retreating and re-entering is a critical part of reprioritizing.
There are lots of different ways to retreat and re-enter. I do it via unhurried relaxing time with the family, movies, grocery shopping, early morning walks, journaling, blogging, focus days, and personal retreats. That’s how I process and prioritize. That’s how I stay fresh.
