Stop Rushing Everything in Business – Part 1: Slowing Down Like Jesus
Updated: Feb 6, 2021
I can’t tell you how many of my tasks are overdue. You wouldn’t believe how many things are on my plate to get out. I’m not even sure how many balls are on my side of the court that are holding initiatives in my business up.
I have campaigns to launch, client deadlines to meet, new business opportunities to create plans for, and prospects to follow up with.
Oh, and not to mention, I have a personal life – you know… a wife, kids, working out, friends, and all of that.
And I forgot – I have a spiritual life that, at times, takes a back seat to all of the other priorities and deadlines I have to meet.
And putting God on the back-burner is precisely the problem with the hurry and rush of being a business owner.
All of us Christian entrepreneurs have an enemy in our life that wants to rob our businesses blind. This enemy disguises himself to steal our love, our joy, and our peace.
If this enemy can distract us long enough, we can all-together forget about leading a God-First business.
The enemy is RUSH.
I’ve heard it said before that if the devil can’t make you sin, he’ll make you busy. Busyness in business causes almost everything to be in “rush mode". Rushing is precisely where the enemy gets us to fail because it cuts off our relationship with God, other people, and our own Spirit.
The ruthless elimination of rush will be one of the most significant challenges and accomplishments a Godpreneur can tackle so that the journey isn’t as burdensome as it feels right now.
But how can we eliminate rush when people are relying on us, the bank accounts don’t just fill themselves up, and millions of our dreams still haven’t come to fruition?
How can we slow down enough to lead emotionally rich and spiritually healthy and vibrant business lives?
One of my favorite illustrations of the “chill” nature of Jesus was when a synagogue leader tells Jesus that his daughter had just died, and to come and lay hands on her so she could be revived. Jesus got up and started heading toward the leader’s house, but not before helping someone else on the way there.
The story goes:
While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.
Just then, a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.
When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. News of this spread through all that region. (Matthew 9:18-26 NIV)
What if Jesus would have RUSHED to the leader’s house? Certainly, someone’s death would qualify as a “rush job,” right? When an ambulance responds to an emergency, traffic moves aside, cars stop, and the petal is to the floor to react as fast as possible.
And yet Jesus had the confidence about his Spirit that made it seem like even saving a little girl’s life can be done in a calm, cool, and collected way.
Jesus’ unrushed nature gave him the capacity to meet a need on the way to meeting another need. Do you see the two-for-one that happened there? In the same amount of time, Jesus did double the miracles.
Look, there’s a way to be busy that’s healthy. When you have purpose and passion, you’re going to have a lot on your plate. Jesus was a very busy man traveling city to city.
The problem isn’t when you have a lot to do in your business; the problems come when you rush because you have too much on your to-do list. The problem is thinking the only way to keep up with the demands of entrepreneurship is to rush everything.
The reality is if the enemy always wants us to be in a hurry and disconnect us from God, then rushing things is entirely incompatible to leading a God-First business. We can’t be led by Spirit and speed.
Slowing Down
Let’s try slowing down today.
The evidence of rush will show up in our bodies, our stress level, at meetings, and any sense of hurry or irritation. The evidence of this rush will all but eliminate our ability to be present in love so we can respond to the Spirit’s calling for the moment.
Imagine if we were too busy to not pick up a phone call from a friend asking us to pray for him.
Right now, and a few more times through the day, take a deep breath on, imagine God’s loving presence enveloping you, and thank God for slowing you down.