I have been thinking about some conversations that Pastor Steve and I have had with various college students, and why church involvement can be like pulling teeth for many students. The theme of being "too busy" has come up quite a bit, and I decided to chime in today on that whole concept.
After all, if I knew what was good for me, I'd probably say I was too busy to be involved in church, too. I mean, I work from 9:00am - 7:00pm (many times later). We have two little boys, aged 3 and 2, who run us ragged from 6:45am - 7:45pm (and a new baby on the way!).
Once 7:45 or 8:00 rolls around, that's my chance to dive into chores (I'm currently building a bunk-bed for the kids - my wife is sewing curtains and clothes), sneak in a conversation with my wife, do dishes and anything else I can do before bed at 11:00pm.
Weekends are our one chance to engage as a family in activities, as well as work on the "big projects".
This is our routine day in and day out. If I or my wife want a break, one of us needs to leave the kids alone with the other and take our breaks on a rotating basis (or pay for a babysitter). On top of all of this, we are buying a fixer-upper house that is unlivable in its current condition and will require weekends, holidays and vacation days to make safe enough to live in.
Why do I say all this? Is it to complain? Is it to earn "busy-points"? Absolutely not. I can name other couples I know with children who juggle even crazier schedules. I know that my life is nothing special in terms of comparison to others. I only mention it for one reason: we tell the students all the time that if they think they are busy now, wait until after college! I am relaying a glimpse into my own schedule as an example of what it takes to make a family work in our society. This is what you have to look forward to!
Can you see now why Steve and I (and others) are always cautioning and urging you to make church and ministry a priority? If you don't do it now, it will be very difficult to restructure your life later.
After all, if I wasn't involved in the church and plugged into ministry, there is no way I would be able to live the gospel at my work or in my home. My relationships that I have formed in my Growth Groups and working in the college ministry have helped to keep me grounded in my faith and in the community of believers.
If listening to a sermon on Sunday morning and disappearing into my schedule each week was all I did, I would become an ineffectual hearer of the Word, and not a doer of the Word. It would not take long for even the “inconvenience” of getting up on Sunday morning would be removed from my calendar.
4 comments:
Hey Phillip, thanks for sharing. I suppose I'm being slightly naive when I suggest this, but I'm still inclined to believe that I'll be less busy when I'm done with school. Granted I point to my experience as an intern this summer, but for now, that's all I have to go on. I'm at work from 9:00am-5:00pm or 6:00pm. After that, I kick back and relax. I can play on the computer. I eat dinner. I can catch up on e-mail. I play my guitar. I can go visit friends and family. I can spend that time how I wish.
Contrast this with school. I'm at school from 8 or 9 am until 5. Granted, I'm not in class that whole time, but usually when I'm not in class, I'm at work. And when I'm not attending either of those two things, I'm in a quite spot working on homework. After that, it's dinner and homework until 11 or 12 on a normal night. During finals or midterms, I've been up until 3 or 4am. Then it's back up at 9 for class.
So let's look at this from my experiences. Work is 9-5, eight hours. 5 days per week. That's 40 hours per week for work. The rest of the week is doing whatever I please.
School, on the other hand is--on average--from 9am until midnight. That's 15 hours. I'm a business major, so I don't usually have class on Fridays unless I'm taking a GE or other non-business course. That means I'm usually only at school 4 days per week, although I have had work on Fridays in the past. Let's keep it simple and do the quick and dirty multiplication of 4 times 15. That's 60 hours. So you tell me when I'm more busy. At school, or at my internship (which for now I will call work)? It seems to me that I'm a heck of a lot busier during school.
I'll grant you that life gets a lot busier when you're married with kids. There's no doubt about that in my mind. But at this point in my life, I truly see work as slowing my life down from my hectic life as a student.
Regardless, your point is well taken. I agree with you that my life in ministry and the Church should be a priority. I know there are many students at Grace who have taken this to heart. However, I also know that there are many who have not, and I would encourage you to take Phillip's message to heart.
I once heard a speaker tell his audience something to the effect of "God is calling you to lay down the lie that one day you will have more time for Him." We may believe that "one day" might be tomorrow. It might be next year. It might be four years from now. But it's a lie. We need to take today to spend time with Him. I thought that was a great message. Until we die, it's never too late to cultivate our relationship with Christ. At the same time, neither is it too early to do the same.
Sorry that last post was so long, but I believe one long post deserves another. Have a great day!
I guess to Phillip it only feels like he has been working 50 hours a week but his point reminded me of David's description of the man that can approach the Lord Psalm 15. Verse 4 talks about the man who makes a committment and doesn't change. Sometimes we stay up too late and dread meeting with that friend in the morning but we have to remind ourselves that the only things that are eternal (and are of everlasting importance) are people. Too sleepy for fellowship? What are you saying is more important?
Unfortunately, some college students think school is absolutely the most important thing in life. Getting involved at Grace changed my perspective on that. I'm an incredibly busy person, and I have made it one of my top priorities, and will be sad to leave it come next june. I think some students don't stop to get to know people and make friends. Probably the number one reason i made ministry a priority was the fellowship and love that made me want to keep coming back!
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