Haste, Part 3

We return today to the subject of haste. Let’s read again the verse we have been considering.

Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

Again, the particular kind of haste that this verse addresses is “such quickness of action as excludes due consideration or reflection.” We have already seen that we are commanded in Scripture to ponder the path of our feet and to consider our ways (Proverbs 4:26; Haggai 1:7). When we make haste, we fail to obey this commandment. Instead, we are rushing about so quickly that we are not taking time to consider our ways. In conjunction with this, consider this admonition from the writings of the apostle Paul.

Ephesians 5:15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

To walk circumspectly is to walk in a circumspect manner. Note the definition of the word circumspect.

Circumspect – Showing caution, well-considered, cautious.

If we are walking circumspectly, we are not running headlong into things without giving them due consideration. We are cautious about the path we are taking. In other words, walking circumspectly is the opposite of making haste. In the light of the commandments of Scripture, we can say that to make haste is to sin, which is exactly what the following verse says.

Proverbs 19:2 ¶Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.

Notice also that when we walk circumspectly, we redeem the time. We waste a lot of time when we make haste. We think we are saving time by rushing about. In actuality, we often lose time having to rectify the mistakes we made when we were in a hurry. And if we would just slow down long enough to consider what we are doing, we might find we are doing a lot of things we do not need to do and which are needlessly consuming our time.

Now just who do you think has a vested interest in our making haste and not considering our ways? It is none other than our adversary the devil. And you can see why Satan wants us acting without due consideration because one of the key means whereby we resist Satan is by being vigilant.

1 Peter 5:8 ¶Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Now consider that word vigilant.

Vigilant – Wakeful and watchful; keeping steadily on the alert; attentively or closely observant.

If we are rushing about not giving due consideration to what we are doing, we are not being very watchful or observant. And there is where Satan will get us. If we develop the habit of always making haste, we will rush into situations where Satan can exploit our weakness and we will sin simply because we did not think before we acted or reacted. Has this ever happened to you?

The great Chinese military scholar, Sun Tzu, said that there are two qualities which are dangerous in the character of a general and lead to calamities on the battlefield. These two qualities are being reckless and being quick-tempered. Both of these are examples of haste. A reckless man lacks caution. He does not give due consideration to his actions. And a quick-tempered man will act in the passion of the moment without thinking through his actions. Now tie this back to the need to be vigilant, if we would be successful in our battle with the devil.

God willing, in our next meditation we shall consider how the resolution to the problem of making haste is found in believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. For today, just be aware that you sin when you make haste, when you act quickly without reflecting upon what you are doing. And also be aware that Satan will come up with every kind of scheme to keep you dashing madly about. He does not want you to stop and consider your ways. If you do that, you just might become wise to his devices and resist him.

Haste, Part 2

Today I wish to continue pursuing the subject of haste. Recall that verse we considered last week:

Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

We saw that the particular kind of haste that this verse addresses is “such quickness of action as excludes due consideration or reflection." It is that rushing about from one thing to another without stopping to consider what we are doing or why we are doing it. We take no time to reflect upon what we are saying or doing to consider if it is necessary or appropriate.

In connection with this thought I would like to quote from an interesting book I am reading entitled The Circle of Simplicity by Cecile Andrews. Now I do not endorse everything in this book. It is peppered with not a little pagan, humanistic philosophy. But there is also some truth in the book worth considering. Remember that Satan is always mixing truth and error. Our job as mature believers is “to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14) and to “abhor that which is evil: cleave to that which is good” (Romans 12:9). Here is the quote taken from page 169 under the section entitled Moving Slowly:

To live mindfully, to appreciate your time, you have to move slowly. There’s nothing more difficult for Americans, and we have gotten worse in the last twenty years. Court reporters find that we talk faster. We walk faster, our movies are faster….
What is this addiction to stimulation? Sometimes I feel addicted to my own adrenaline. If I’m not rushing, feeling pressured, I feel like I’m missing something. Is this the only way we can feel alive now – by rushing? Are we mistaking the rush of caffeine for a feeling of vitality? Does rushing make us feel like we are doing something important, that we are important people? Are we all engaged in such meaningless work that we can only feel important if we feel pressured? Do we have to convince ourselves and others of the importance of our work to justify our existence?
Here is where mindfulness comes in. You must pay attention to your speed and consciously slow down. Maybe make that your mantra – slow down – saying it very slowly.
Rushing as we do means that things are always going wrong. You always drop things and break something and have to clean up, so it takes longer anyway. It’s like speeding and getting stopped by the police: you lose all the time you were trying to gain.
And, of course, in our rushing, we have no time to talk with people, so we get lonelier and lonelier.
In rushing, we have no time for reflection, no time to notice what is going on around us. We can’t reflect on warning signals that come to us – warning signals such as early signs that something is wrong with our health. Signs that you are starting to drive too fast. For instance, whenever I have a near miss in my car, I always say to myself, Ahh, a message from the universe (here is a sample of the paganism, BJM), and I slow down and become more careful in my driving.

There is some food for thought is that quotation, if you will slow down long enough to think about it. We do indeed make more mistakes when we are hasty because we are not taking time to consider what we are doing. And indeed Scripture teaches us as much. Haste resulted in Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son, becoming lame.

2 Samuel 4:4 And Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.

That haste that is quickness of action without due consideration or reflection will certainly result in our saying and doing some foolish things.

Proverbs 14:29 He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.

Proverbs 29:20 Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.

Those things we do in haste will leave us wanting and ashamed. We will not achieve what we meant to achieve if we act in haste.

Proverbs 21:5 The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want.

Proverbs 25:8 Go not forth hastily to strive, lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof, when thy neighbour hath put thee to shame.

How many are in want because of financial decisions made in haste without due consideration? How many times have you been quick to take someone to task over something only to be embarrassed in the end?

It is interesting to compare Isaiah 28:16 with how it is rendered in 1Peter 2:6, where it is quoted. Isaiah says: “he that believeth shall not make haste.” Peter says: “he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.” There is some connection between making haste and being confounded. This becomes apparent as we consider the definition of confounded.

Confounded – Discomfited, abashed, put to shame or mental confusion; confused, disordered, etc.

Examine your own life. Have you not experienced embarrassment, confusion, and disorderliness because you rushed headlong into things without due consideration and reflection? By contrast, those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ shall not make haste and, therefore, shall not be confounded. Our hectic, hurried way of life that excludes time to consider and reflect on our ways reveals a lack of trust in our Lord. We shall have more to saying about this in a coming meditation, God willing. In the meantime, go back and reread that quote I cited above and examine your own life in the light of it. Remember, “he that believeth shall not make haste.” Slow down!

Haste, Part 1

It is interesting how I come upon topics about which to preach or to write. Every morning during and after breakfast, I read in one of the foreign languages that I know. Today I was reading an old German novel that Don Dierksheide gave me from his father’s collection after his father passed away. This novel is written in old style German. The sentences are often long and complex requiring more mental energy to understand, which is good exercise for my aging brain. Anyway, there was a sentence that I came across that set me to thinking. Here is my loose translation of the sentence: “Things in life do not keep pace with the speed of our wishes and hopes. Therefore, we must learn to yield to the most untiring patience in all circumstances.” How true! We often wish for things to happen much faster than they do. Because things in life do not happen as quickly as we desire, we must resort to patience in order to deal with them. Reading this sentence brought to mind this verse:

Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

I wish to zero in on the phrase, “he that believeth shall not make haste.” Let’s define that word haste.

Haste – 1. Urgency or impetuosity of movement resulting in or tending to swiftness or rapidity; quickness, speed, expedition (properly of voluntary action). Opposed to leisurely motion or action. 2. Such quickness of action as excludes due consideration or reflection; hurry, precipitancy, want of deliberation, rashness.

Primarily the word haste means quickness or speed. Now we all have occasions when we need to act quickly. Even Scripture acknowledges such occasions as the following sample of verses make clear.

The angel speaking to Lot when he was fleeing Sodom and Gomorrah said:

Genesis 19:22 Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither.

Speaking of the Passover, the Lord commanded Israel:

Exodus 12:11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S passover.

Even our Saviour commanded men to make haste on certain occasions.

Luke 19:5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.

Acts 22:18 And saw him (Jesus) saying unto me (Paul), Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.

It should be obvious from these verses that Isaiah 28:16 is not referring to all haste altogether, but it is rather speaking of a certain kind of haste. It is addressing that kind of haste that is defined above as “such quickness of action as excludes due consideration or reflection."

So much of modern life is lived in the fast lane. We are constantly rushing from one thing to the next. Rushing about under pressure as we do, we often do not allow ourselves adequate time and space to consider our ways or reflect upon what we are doing. We act and react in the rush of the moment. It is just this kind of haste that Isaiah 28:16 is speaking about.

Isaiah 28:16 is quoted in the New Testament and applied to our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the chief corner stone.

1 Peter 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,

Therefore, our verse is teaching us that believing on the Lord Jesus Christ results in one not making haste. So what does this tell us? It tells us that much of our rushed, hectic modern life in which we are caught up is not being lived in terms of the Christian faith. If we are rushing about not giving due consideration to our actions, it reveals something lacking in our faith!

Consider how much of our modern life proceeds. We demand instant gratification. The demands of the consumer must be satisfied right now. If you make your living providing goods and services, you know something of the impatience of Mr. John Q. Public. If we are hungry, we must eat right now. Fast food is the order of the day. I am sometimes disturbed by the impatience I see in people at a potluck. One would think they were dying from hunger. Frankly, I do not see anyone in our church in danger of that! If the air conditioner breaks down, it must be repaired right now. God forbid that we should have to pass a night or two in the heat. Of course, all the fuming and fretting about not having air conditioning only raises the body heat and makes us hotter. Constantly feeling pressed for time, we drive faster and grow progressively less patient with those who get in our way. It is almost as if those who move more slowly are doing something criminal. Our moral code has become “faster is better.” With today’s technology we can communicate and gain knowledge faster than we ever could before. This has led to the mindset that we need to know things right now. How often do we say or hear things like this: “Wait? You mean it’s not ready yet? You can’t come until next week? You can’t be serious!” It is as if the word wait has become obscene. And on and on goes the mad rush of modern life. And in all this hurrying about, the time needed to consider and reflect upon the direction of our lives is lacking.

Over against all this mad dash is the voice of the Holy Spirit calling to us and saying:

Proverbs 4:26 Ponder (consider) the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.

Haggai 1:5 Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.

I can see now that I am on to something that will require more than one meditation. For now we see the problem and we know that the solution is found in our Christian faith. So you will have to wait until later for more.

Listening, Part 5

This will be the last meditation in this series on the subject of listening. I would like to focus this meditation on the importance of listening in our personal relationships. Once again Greg Ohly is up to bat. You may recall that Greg received honourable mention in the second meditation that I did on this subject. It seems that Greg is having a good season this year. I would like to relate to you a passage from a book that Greg mentioned to me that I purchased and read. The book is entitled 3 Steps to Yes: The Gentle Art of Getting Your Way by Gene Bedell. This book was actually recommended to Greg by Fred Hodgins. So Fred scores a run in this inning as well.

In the passage I wish to quote, Mr. Bedell had been dealing with how bats navigate. Here is the passage taken from pages 62-63:

Bats use an entirely different mechanism, echolocation, which requires their active involvement and demands that they continuously process what they “hear.” Like sonar on a submarine, bats send out signals, typically ultrasound, that bounce off their targets – insects, trees, the windshields of eighteen-wheelers – and get reflected back for immediate processing by their bat brains.
Given the need to listen to and process every incoming signal, bats are definitely not big-picture creatures. Unlike us, they can’t just sit back and passively listen and decide what to do after they’ve heard the whole story. They can’t ignore intermediate information they receive and tune in and out of their conversations with the outside world, confident they’ll pick up the gist of what’s being communicated. They navigate, deciding which direction to fly and what to do next, based on what they learn as they go along. If they stop paying attention, they’re dead bats.
The human brain is far larger than an entire bat. For better or for worse, we can do such things as conceptualize, summarize, judge, store for later processing, or ignore the vast quantities of data we hear and see. In terms of raw IQ, we’ve got it all over bats. But when it comes to listening, these abilities, which give us the option of tuning in or turning off what’s being said, might actually put us at a disadvantage. When it’s important that you listen, particularly if you’re flying into the unknown, try to listen like a bat.
Specifically send out a signal, wait for a response, listen to the response, then think about it before you decide what you’re going to say. Only after you’ve done all that should you send out another signal. There are three important concepts here. The most important is that you’re talking to listen and understand, as opposed to talking to be heard. The second is that you’re listening carefully to every response that comes back from the signals you send out. Finally, you’re navigating, adjusting what you say and do, according to what you hear as you go along.
To make this work, at a minimum, you have to stop talking so you can listen and think about what the other person is saying. For example, after asking your transition question, stop talking. Don’t just stop talking, don’t even think about talking. No matter how long it takes your Prospect to answer, think about only one thing: listening – because listening is the only way you can learn about the personal needs of the individual you’re trying to persuade.

This passage, of course, is dealing with the art of persuading people. It is true that being a good listener will provide you with the knowledge of how best to connect to the person you want to persuade. If you know a person’s needs, you can better persuade them by showing them that what you have to offer will meet those needs. Or you may discover that what you have to offer will not meet that person’s needs. In this case you can save yourself time and effort trying to persuade someone who will not likely be persuaded. Understanding this can be very valuable in Christian witnessing. It is a waste of time to try to convince some people to believe the gospel. That is why we have verses like this one:

Proverbs 23:9 Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.

Notice the line that I highlighted in the above passage. Too often when conversing with someone, we are more interested in being heard than in hearing what someone else has to say. This causes a relationship to be imbalanced and frustrates the person who wants to be heard but “can’t get in a word edgeways.” Let’s face it. We all like to be heard. How many times have you responded to something someone was telling you with a flippant “Uh huh” only then to rush to what you were planning to say all the while you were supposed to be listening to the other person. You need to practice listening, which means practicing concentration. You need to concentrate on what the other person is telling you, as was recommended in the quotation above. If you would build good relationships with others, you must learn to be a better listener.

But, as always, we need to see what the Scriptures have to say about this. This verse speaks directly to our need to be more ready to listen than to speak.

James 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

How many times have you been so certain of what someone was going to say, that you cut them off and responded to what you thought they were going to say. You might think this is a sign of your superior intelligence. Not so! Consider this verse:

Proverbs 18:13 He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.

If it embarrasses you to realize that you cut people off before hearing them out, it should. Such behaviour is a shame. It shows a lack of good judgment.

In his book entitled The Smart Step-family, Ron L. Deal had this to say about listening: “Listening is a process by which persons set aside their own agendas long enough to tune in to someone else.” That captures what I am trying to say. If we would follow the wisdom of Scripture, we would be more inclined to listen than to speak. We would take more time to weigh what we hear and to respond to it. If we are too quick to speak, we run the risk of being fools, yea, worse than fools.

Proverbs 29:20 Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.

Matt Ruma gave me this quote from the Greek philosopher Epictetus: "We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak." That is just another way of saying “be swift to hear; slow to speak.” So Matt scores a run as well. If we would all become better listeners, it would go far in improving our relationships with others. And we would certainly be better Christians as we would be more disposed to hearken diligently to our God. May our God never make this complaint of us:

Psalms 81:13 Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!

I hope you have found these meditations informative and profitable. Would you like me to continue producing these email meditations for you?

Listening, Part 4

Thank God, I can at last come back to composing these meditations. In the last three meditations I dealt with the subject of listening. Let’s briefly review the ground we have covered to bring us up to date. Recall that the responsibility for listening falls upon you, the listener. You need to become an energetic listener, making an effort to focus your attention upon what you are hearing. God commands you to hearken diligently to Him, which means that you need to make a constant effort to pay attention to what He is saying to you. And do not forget that the quality of your life depends upon whether you listen to God or not. Listening, like anything else, will improve with effort and practice. In order to pay attention, you must exercise the power of concentration. When you are concentrating, your mind is focused on one thing. As you try to pay attention, you need to notice when your mind wanders and call it back. In other words, if you would improve the power of concentration, you must concentrate on concentrating. You also need to practice self-control, restraining your passions, emotions, and impulses. Otherwise, your mind will be so anxious and agitated that you cannot focus your attention on one thing. And do not forget to reduce unnecessary stress as stress will interfere with your ability to concentrate and to retain information. Today I would like to consider some things that might help to improve your power of concentration and thereby your listening skills.

One thing that should help to improve your power of concentration is to cut back on activities that reduce your ability to concentrate. For example, one of the problems that speakers face today is that they address audiences whose power of concentration has been numbed by television. Taking in the information television offers does not require the power of concentration that reading or listening to a speaker requires. Instead of having to focus your attention, television reaches out and grabs it with the technical manipulation of events by means such as background music, loud noises, switching scenes and angles, and other visual effects. My daughter reports that when she allows her son to watch cartoons before beginning his lessons in home school, his ability to concentrate on his lessons is greatly reduced. Spending less time in front of the boob tube and more time in things that exercise your ability to listen with concentration should help.

Here is a quote from an article that I downloaded entitled Grave Cell Phone Dangers Revealed by Will Thomas:

Other studies show that electromagnetic signals from cellular phones reduce the ability to concentrate, calculate and coordinate complicated activities such as driving a car. Startled by $4 billion a year in extra claims among cellphone-wielding drivers, North American insurers did a double-take that found simply juggling cell phones is now causing a 600% increase in accidents over other drivers busy shaving, applying makeup, tuning radios, taming pets, making out, pouring coffee, retrieving dropped cigarettes, talking and gesturing to passengers, or actually steering the vehicle.
Instead of just another dangerous distraction, tests conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy found that using a cell phone severely impairs memory and reaction times. "Hands-free" mobile speaker-phones cause even more crashes because they typically emit 10-times more brainwave interference than handheld units.

Now I cannot vouch for the information in this quote, especially since I do not have a cell phone. But I do think it is worth considering. To those who use cell phones, which are most of you, I would suggest that you observe yourself and see if cell phone usage affects your power of concentration. When you hang up your cell phone, try to focus on one thing and see how well you do.

Another thing that should help you to listen is to learn to listen selectively. This relates back to some of the recommendations I gave you on the subject of memory. Recall that in order to improve your memory, you have to establish priorities whereby you can sort out what needs to be remembered from what does not need to be remembered. Since you cannot remember everything that comes through your mind, you must practice selective forgetting thus freeing up mental energy to remember what you should. The same holds true for listening. Today we are bombarded with so many voices beckoning for our attention. Just consider all that knocks at the door of our minds: there are the people around us with whom we must deal; there is the daily mail delivery with myriads of advertisements, political ads, newspapers, etc.; there is the television with several channels to choose from, especially if you have cable television; there are phones sounding off at home, in the office, and everywhere, if you have a cell phone; there is the internet; there is email; there is music being played everywhere you go; there are iPods; and somewhere in the mix are God, His word, His church, and His minister. In order to be a better listener, you have to simply say “no” to some of these things calling for your attention. Remember that listening requires concentration, which is the ability to focus on one thing. So that means other things have to be tuned out!

We have to realize that we cannot listen to everything, learn everything, know everything, and do everything. We have to settle it in our hearts as to what is most important for us to learn, know, and do. That will help us to discern between what we should listen to and what we should tune out.

Now the Scripture teaches us to practice selective listening. Observe these passages:

Proverbs 19:27 Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.

1 Timothy 4:7 But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.

Titus 3:9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.

Since the quality of our life depends upon our listening to God, it stands to reason that our adversary the devil will introduce every distraction he can to keep us from paying attention to what our God has to say. So let us be vigilant and resist this device of the enemy. Let us ever follow the advice of Eli, who taught Samuel to say: “Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth” (1 Samuel 3:9). Are you listening?