The late Dallas Willard was fond of saying, "You must ruthlessly eliminate all hurry from your life!" He was answering a question frequently directed his direction -- "What should I do if I want to really grow as a Christian?" As Dallas saw things, hurry is the #1 enemy of spiritual growth. Hurry fosters impatience, keeps us from seeing how God is at work in the current moment, and leads to unhealthy short-cuts.
There are ways that we can train ourselves to be in less of a hurry. For example, you can make a habit of choosing the longest line at the grocery store and then instead of fretting at how slow things are moving intentionally start looking for the presence of God in that moment. Silently pray for the person in front of you. Engage someone in a conversation. Listen and process all that is being said around you. It's not wasted time.
We're way too paranoid about wasting time. I'm not suggesting that we should become slackers but that we can become intentional about moving at an unhurried pace. It's good for the soul -- and the mission. The tortoise always wins the race.
If you want to explore this idea further I would like to suggest a brand new book by John Ortberg called Soul Keeping. Another wonderful book on this topic is An Unhurried Life: Following Jesus' Rhythms of Work and Rest by Alan Fadling. Both of these books are very accessible and are worth reading slowly.
If you're serious about going deeper as a disciple of Jesus, slide on over into the slow lane.
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