Multitasking is good for some things.... but not all

Do you know why there are no cup holders in most German-made cars?  Because the Germans believe that cars were meant for driving, not for eating and drinking.  Oh, so you know of a German-made car that has cup holders? That's because it was made for the American market and they know that Americans won't usually buy cars that don't have a place to but their Route 44 soda or big travel mug of coffee.  But that doesn't mean that they are not shaking their heads on the assembly line in Sindelfingen, Germany whenever they put one of these cars together.  No multitasking allowed.

We live in a world where multi-tasking is the norm.   We eat and drive - we talk and text - we watch TV and surf the internet... I've even been trying all winter to figure out how to crochet and exercise at the same time.  And while we may think we're pretty good at doing many things at the same time, the reality is that each activity suffers in some way by not getting our full attention.  That's why my seat belts and my clothes often have stains when I eat while driving.  The other night I heated up a pan to toast some pine nuts ... I felt sure I could go upstairs, move the clothes from the washer to the dryer and put in another load before they burned... I could not...  and I ended up throwing a very delicious garnish into the trash.

I'm reading the book, Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom with a group of women from my church.  Mitch started out as a sports writer in Detroit, but in 1989 started writing additional column each week about American life and values.  It is from these columns that his most recognized works come (Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven).  In Have a Little Faith, he is asked by his childhood rabbi to write his eulogy.  Not sure what he expected, Mitch traveled to New Jersey to meet with him in person, and this one meeting started a habit of meetings that led Mitch toreclaim his own faith, but also to explore and support the faith journeys of others.  In their first interview, Mitch asked an important question.  The question and the Reb's answer have made a lasting impression on me.

Mitch wrote: "I wondered, now that his days were dwindling, how important ritual still was."  "Vital," he said.  "But why, deep inside, you know your convictions."  "Mitch," he said, "faith is about doing.  You are how you act, not just how you believe" (page 44).

This is the problem, isn't it ... that more often than not, we act as if our faith is held in a sacred, separate compartment in our lives.  And if we're very "spiritual," we might try to do faith at the same time as we are going about the business of everyday living.  But if Mitch's rabbi is right, we have to understand that our faith is not in competition with our "real" lives.  Our faith should be THE real part, lived out every hour of every day.  It sounds impossible, I know, or at least really hard.  And yet, it's really what Jesus encourages us to at least attempt every day

Maybe you've heard the parable of the houses built on the rock and the sand.  The house built on the rock stands up to the stresses of life - the one on the sand is washed away when trouble comes knocking.  Eugene Peterson puts this passage into contemporary language in this way in his translation, The Message.

"These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.  But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards."

When Jesus concluded his address, the crowd burst into applause. They had never heard teaching like this. It was apparent that he was living everything he was saying—quite a contrast to their religion teachers! This was the best teaching they had ever heard.  (Matthew 7:24-29)

This is the challenge of the Christian life today... how do we live our faith without multitasking it into an insignificant place in our lives?  I suspect that these questions take a lifetime to examine, but I am also reminded of this condensation of John Wesley's General Rules.  If I can follow these directions, then maybe I can come close to living a faithful, blessed life.

Do no harm.

Do good.

Practice the spiritual disciplines.

Watch over one another in love - John Wesley (1703-1791)

Peace, Deb