The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World

by John Mark Comer

The story goes like this: It’s the height of British colonialism. An English traveler lands in Africa, intent on a rapid journey into the jungle. He charters some local porters to carry his supplies. After an exhausting day of travel, all on foot, and a fitful night’s sleep, he gets up to continue the journey. But the porters refuse. Exasperated, he begins to cajole, bribe, plead, but nothing works. They will not move an inch. Naturally, he asks why. Answer? They are waiting “for their souls to catch up with their bodies.”

Dan Allender, in his book Sabbath, had this to say: The Sabbath is an invitation to enter delight. The Sabbath, when experienced as God intended, is the best day of our lives. Without question or thought, it is the best day of the week. It is the day we anticipate on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday—and the day we remember on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Sabbath is the holy time where we feast, play, dance, have sex, sing, pray, laugh, tell stories, read, paint, walk, and watch creation in its fullness. Few people are willing to enter the Sabbath and sanctify it, to make it holy, because a full day of delight and joy is more than most people can bear in a lifetime, let alone a week.16

2. Before you buy, ask yourself, By buying this, am I oppressing the poor or harming the earth? We all know that the level at which Americans consume is doing great harm to the earth. Scientists argue it would take something like five earths for everyone on the planet to live with the same ecological footprint as the average American.52 Think of something as common as polyester, which is now in a startling 50 percent of our clothes and is non-biodegradable. That cute athletic-wear outfit? It will always exist, in a landfill. FOREVER.

Today only 2 percent of our clothing is made in the US, and we spend only around 4 percent of our annual budgets on it—a decrease of 500 percent. How did our clothing get so cheap? Well, multinational corporations started making our clothes in places like Vietnam and Bangladesh, where government corruption is rife and officials do little or nothing to stop the victimization of workers. Things like minimum wage, health care, and unions are alien. Workers are likely to work six to seven days a week in a sweltering factory, often in unsafe conditions with little or no protection.53

As much as I want to believe slavery is a thing of the past, what were most African American slaves doing? Farming cotton. For clothes.

11. Recognize advertising for what it is—propaganda. Call out the lie. As my favorite Quaker so provocatively said, “Refuse to be propagandized by the custodians of modern gadgetry.”58 This one is actually fun. One of the few times where sarcasm feels Jesusy to me. I love to turn this into a game with my kids. When we see an ad, we stop and call out the lie. See that ad for a new Volvo? The model couple driving off into the Norwegian fjord? Ha. Good one. As if buying that car will make us look like models. The truth is… Parenting is a lot of fun.