Can anyone truly say that our lives have been improved by the inventions and technologies that promised to do so?  It seems that those things that were intended to simplify our lives and give us more discretionary time have actually done the opposite.  Anxiety and stress are at higher levels today than at any previous time in history.  Society is at a constant level of “information overload” that is beyond the mind’s ability to assimilate, let alone comprehend.  Smart watches, phones, tablets, and computers can be set to alert us 24/7/365 to whatever notifications we choose to receive. “FOMO,” the fear of missing out, is seen as a psychological condition causing anxiety, stress, sleep disorders, and a host of other issues.

In 1998 Linda Stone, a renowned IT consultant and author, coined the phrase “Constant Partial Attention” to describe simultaneous attention to a number of sources at a superficial level.  Imagine the technological advancements in the years since.

In 1967 Charles E. Hummel coined the phrase “The Tyranny of the Urgent” in his excellent book by the same name.  His book grew out of concern for the impact of technology on culture, specifically how the urgent could so easily distract from the important.  The technological advance of the time was the telephone.

While technology has certainly accelerated these concerns they have existed since time began.  No one had more demands on His times and energies than the Lord Himself, and we can learn much from how He handled stress.

One notable occasion is recorded in Luke chapter 8. His ministry was rapidly gaining momentum through His teaching and miracles. Jairus, a well respected ruler of a Jewish synagogue, came to Jesus and fell at His feet.  His one and only 12-year old daughter was gravely ill and he begged Him to come to his home to heal her.  As a Jewish ruler the disciples must have been ecstatic as this could be the breakthrough they were waiting for.  As Jesus left with Jairus, throngs of people surrounded Him.  One dear lady pressed through the crowd, fell at His feet, and touched the hem of His garment.  Jesus stopped, asking the question “who touched Me?”  The disciples probably thought who cares?  Hoards of people are touching you, we’ve got to get to Jairus’ place.  But the Lord stopped, saying “this is different, power went out of Me.”  The dear lady, embarrassed that she was now the center of attention, had suffered for 12 years with a horrible illness, spent her life-savings with doctors only to be made worse, and now she had been immediately healed by the Master.  In His compassion He spoke to her, saying “Daughter, be of good comfort, your faith has made you whole.  Go in peace.”  It may not have been a huge delay but it was enough that as He was speaking a messenger came to sarcastically inform Him that the little girl had died, don’t bother to come.  The disciples may have thought “oh well, we blew that chance” but the Lord had another plan.  He continued on to Jairus’ house where He faced laughter and scorn– before He raised her from the dead. The urgent need of Jairus’ daughter did not distract Him from the important need of an unnamed woman.

Throughout His earthly ministry the Lord Jesus never got in a hurry. Even in John chapter 11 when His close friends Mary and Martha sent word that their brother Lazarus was deathly ill the Lord delayed two days before going to their house though it was only two miles away.  When He arrived Lazarus had died and been buried.  Mary and Martha knew He could have come sooner and were hurt and confused that He hadn’t.  He wept at their grief.  He then ordered the stone be rolled away saying “Lazarus, come forth.”  The urgent need of His dear friends did not distract Him from the important work He was completing in Jerusalem.

The Lord never allowed the urgent to supersede the important.  He was always about His Father’s business.

Luke chapter 10 records a time when the Lord dropped in on Mary and Martha for a visit.  Mary sat at His feet to spend time with Him as Martha went to the kitchen to prepare lunch for the Lord Himself. What a noble work!  Yet frustration set in until Martha went to the door saying “Lord, don’t you care that she has left me to serve alone?  Tell her to come and help me!”  In what must have been a tender moment of compassion His response to her was “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled with many things (Notice Martha mentioned only one thing but Jesus knew there were many), but only one thing is necessary and she has chosen the better part which shall not be taken from her.”  What a powerful and important lesson.  Martha was serving the Lord Himself, yet Jesus said that the time Mary spent with Him was of greater importance than what she was doing for Him.

In commenting on this passage, A. W. Tozer says Mary represents the contemplative life of a believer through prayer and worship while Martha represents the active life of service and ministry.  The key to a healthy spiritual life is one of balance between the two.  However, as the Lord taught Martha if we are going to err, be sure to err to the side of our personal, intimate time with Him. As He works in and through us He will surely produce a life of meaningful service and ministry.  But if we attempt to do His work in our strength it will amount to nothing (John 15:5).

A recurring theme throughout the Gospels is that our Lord Jesus regularly rose long before morning to find a solitary place in which to spend time with the Father. It was that intimate, abiding relationship with the Father that allowed Him to resolutely be about the Father’s business without distraction or diversion.  It will be our intimate, abiding relationship with Him that allows us to be intentionally focused on the work He has called us to do without being distracted or diverted by the tyrannies of the urgent.