“Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.”
~ John 11:1-6
I’m named after my Grandpa James “Jimmy” Ramos. Grandpa was the only surviving male of nine children. He had my Dad and I’m the only one of my siblings to have sons. Grandpa proudly cut the umbilical cord on our oldest of our three sons—his namesake and great grandson—James IV.
At only 5’6” tall, my Portuguese Grandpa was a force to be reckoned with. He was a devout Catholic, owned a construction company, serving regularly in his church, and loved one woman for sixty-four years. I respected him like no other until he died at ninety-three.
As a twenty year old young man he offered his wisdom in his usual rapid-fire-speech, “Jimmy,IwanttotellyousomethingmyDadtoldmewhenIwasyourage. Realmeneatfast. Talkfast. Andworkfast.”
For the next thirty years I believed that manhood meant doing everything faster than everyone else. His words served me well…until I realized something. Jesus—the ultimate man—did none of these fast!
I spent the next three decades believing in a false narrative—hook, line, and sinker.
Even in a crisis Jesus remained poised. In John 11 after being told of his friend’s sickness, “he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. (John 11:6)”
What! He arrived in Bethany four days after Lazarus’ moved from his house to a tomb!
Jesus never hurried. But we live at blinding speeds and have the audacity to brag about it, “I’m so busy!” We’re living a lie. It couldn’t be further than how Jesus lived.
This is called a false narrative. It’s a fictional story that defines our life, often destroying our life.
Richard Foster wrote, “God never calls us into a life of panting feverishness.”
But Hurry Sickness—busyness—is running our lives. And it’s ruining them.
It’s time for the men of our time to lead the way and repent of Hurry Sickness (aka Busyness). Take a full day off each week to sleep in and rest. Sleep seven to eight hours each night. Give your God and those you love the best version of you. Slow down. It’s not worth it.
