I have a habit of getting really busy. Really, really busy. Let me illustrate the point for you by giving you an outline of my current schedule, which is an easy par for the course in my life. I work an average of 50-55 hours a week, I have Korean class twice a week, I lead a Bible study as well as Sunday morning worship, I go to dance classes, I play ultimate frisbee once or twice a week, and I volunteer, all while trying to getting a teaching certification, helping plan a friend's wedding, and preparing for grad school.
Please don't misunderstand me. Such a busy schedule is not a source of pride for me. I have packed my life so full of things to do, that there is no room for any aberration from the schedule. I don't have time for a change of plans, or for spontaneity, or sometimes even to help someone in need.
I wonder, if the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 had been as busy as I, would he have stopped to help? If he had had jam-packed appointments or important meetings, would he have taken the time out of his busy schedule to help someone who needed him? Some people think that it is their responsibility to help everyone in the world. They never say no, they take on too many projects and responsibilities, they spread themselves too thin, and eventually, while trying to help everyone, they end up effectively helping no one.
We are not called to help everyone in the world. But we are called to help the people that God places in our paths. Do you have enough wiggle room in your schedule to be able to help the people that God wants you to help? Are you listening hard enough through the noise of your jam-packed schedule to even hear God telling you that He wants to speak through you into someone else's life? Don't let your schedule get so full with incidentals that you miss out on the essentials.
Luke 10:25-37
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
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