Monday morning. Up early. In a hurry to get to the office. Always in a hurry. Another day of meetings. I freaking hate meetings. I’m introverted and creative, and like most millennials I get bored way too easily. Me in a lot of meetings is a terrible idea for all involved. But our church grew really fast, and that’s part of the trouble...
I got into this thing to teach the way of Jesus.
Is this the way of Jesus?
Who am I becoming?
I stop.
Breathe.
Envision myself at 40. 50. 60.
It’s not pretty.
This is an excerpt from today’s Friday book review: The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer.
Comer paints a picture of a life with no rest, no pause, and no reflection.
A life driven by constant motion, distraction, and activity.
This is not a lifestyle worth pursuing.
Here are three ideas I learned from Comer’s book:
Put Your Phone Away - Better Yet Make It Boring
Comer cites a study finding that just being in the same room as our phones (even if turned off) “will reduce someone’s working memory and problem-solving skills.”
A summary of the study states, “If you grow dependent on your smartphone, it becomes a magical device that silently shouts your name at your brain at all times.”
Our phones have made us more productive but less focused.
Before smartphones came out in 2000, our attention span was 12 seconds, which was already pretty bad.
In 2019, our attention span shrunk to 8 seconds.
To put this in perspective, a goldfish has an attention span of 9 seconds.
Attention is our scarcest resource.
“What you give your attention to,” Comer says, “is the person you become.”
A dear friend once told me that the person you will become in the next 10 years depends on the books you read and the people you surround yourself with.
Give those people your attention.
Put your phone away. Turn off notifications after a specific time. Make it greyscale (aka boring) - see below:
Be present. Do Less.
One of Comer’s strongest points is that a hurried life leads to shallow relationships.
He argues that hurrying is incompatible with love because love requires time, attention, and patience. Shout out to the parents in the room.
The modern world prizes volume and efficiency: How quickly can we respond to emails? How many tasks can we complete in a day?
But relationships don't thrive on efficiency; they thrive on time.
A hurried life leads to fragmented attention, where we are physically present but mentally elsewhere.
“Hurry is not of the devil,” psychologist Carl Jung once said, “Hurry is the devil.”
Comer reminds us that Jesus was never in a hurry—he walked everywhere and stopped to engage with people fully.
What to do?
Practice saying no more. Constantly.
Every activity we give our time to is 1000 other activities we can’t give attention to.
“No is a complete sentence.” - Anne Lamott
To grow, we need to say no.
Control your Desires. Seek Rest.
Comer argues that modern life is built on insatiable desire - the constant craving for more money, success, and possessions.
He writes:
“Desire is infinite. It has no limit. We never reach a point where we can say, 'Enough is enough.'"
The Stoic philosopher -Seneca- warned against the dangers of uncontrolled desire:
It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, who is poor.
The more we chase possessions, social validation, and digital distractions, the more restless we become.
Practicing gratitude throughout the day helps us keep our desires in check.
Comer finds the Sabbath as a great time to practice gratitude.
The word Sabbath comes from the Hebrew word Shabbat, which literally means “to stop.”
“The Sabbath is simply a day to stop: stop working, stop wanting, stop worrying, just stop.”
Comer argues that rest is not just about sleep or vacations—it’s about the deep renewal of the soul.
He reminds us that even God rested on the seventh day of creation, setting an example for human beings.
In today’s culture of hustle and productivity, rest is often dismissed as laziness.
But Comer argues that rest is an act of resistance against a world that never stops demanding more.
Practicing sabbath or a day of rest is “a way of living with ease, gratitude, appreciation, peace, and prayer.”
Comer challenges us to tame our desires and embrace rest as radical choices in a world obsessed with more and faster.
History, philosophy, and faith traditions all reinforce his wisdom: true freedom comes not from constant striving but from contentment and stillness.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30
Now here’s what I’ve been reading and watching lately:
The story why people need to have a minimum level of stress by Morgan Housel
The story of the founder of Sony - Akio Morita - on Founders Podcast
The story of the man who beat Ferrari - Carroll Shelby - on Founders Podcast
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
My favorite children’s book so far (I have a 5-year old): High Five by Adam Rubin