Today’s devotional: are we too busy to help others?
Everybody’s busy these days—it’s just a fact of life. Between our careers, families, church activities, and other social responsibilities, there’s never a shortage of things that we could (or should) be doing.
All of the above things are important. But is all that busyness hindering our ability to serve Christ? In this Daily Encounter devotional, Richard Innes describes an experiment conducted on a seminary campus. Three different groups of students were each given a different task:
[The professor] gave the first group envelopes telling them to proceed immediately across campus to Stewart Hall. He told them that they had 15 minutes and if they didn’t arrive on time, it would affect their grade. A minute or two later, he handed out envelopes to five others. They were also to go over to Stewart Hall, but they had 45 minutes. The third group had three hours to get to Stewart Hall.
The students weren’t aware of it, but the professor had arranged for three drama students to meet them along the way. Close to the beginning of their walk, one of the drama students had his hands on his head and was moaning aloud as if in great pain. About half way to Stewart Hall, on the steps of the chapel, the seminary students passed a man who was lying face down as if unconscious. Finally, on the steps of Stewart Hall, the third drama student was acting out a seizure.
In the first group of students, those who had only 15 minutes to get across campus, no one stopped to help. In the second group, two students stopped to help. In the last group, the one that had three hours for their assignment, all of the students stopped to help at least one person. The professor had clearly shown these seminarians that hurry hinders ministry.
Read the full devotional at ACTS International.
Would you have stopped to help any of those people if you were in a hurry? In the busyness of our everyday lives, let’s make sure we aren’t passing by opportunities to serve others and reflect Christ to the world.
That’s a fascinating story!
It reminds me of all those times I pass cars with flat tires on the highway. I value my own time and schedule more than other people’s needs most of the time.
As I reflect on the story it has come home forcefully that I need to pay much attention to my neighbors. opportunity may appears for christ to be seeing through me.
Today I answered a call from a friend of a former renter’s kid asking for a ride from her town to mine and back to do some banking. I chose to take the opportunity for a little gospel fellowship along the way. But I also saw people in more need. Since I can only help everyone at once by prayer, I prayed for the car stopped along the side of the road and on the third pass a policeman was helping them and on my 4th pass for that trip the car was gone. So God is able to take care of everyone as we all cooperate with Him.
God also brought a miracle to help me when she was asking for another ride in two days. I said only God knows what I’ll be doing. Then He brought a phone call to her from someone she wanted to talk to more than me. So we can help others as Jesus leads yet not be overburdened as He leads. His yoke is light.
There are ways to help many more people but that might involve getting our eyes misaimed from Jesus to the work of helping. It is most joyful to follow Jesus’ lead.
I was in the 99cent store after work on yesterday. You could tell that everyone was pretty much in their hustle and bustle mode picking up items and trying to dash home. In the grocery section there was a basket blocking the middle of the aisle. I spotted a woman look down to the floor to ask this elderly woman who was clearly distraught,
“Is this your basket?” the woman replied yes and the lady pushed it to the side and kept shopping. I couldn’t (yet sad to say), I could believe what I saw. I then asked the lady on the floor was she okay and she replied, “I’m not feeling to well” I went to seek help for her i saw that she was taken care of and on my way home, i said a silent prayer not just for her but also for the passer byer’s.
I fight back back tears just to think, what if the Lord had passed us by???
Just wanted to share this with all my sis. and bros. in christ. that helping is also helping in church. Your pastor and his wife. don’t expect for them to ask you. If you do decide to help don’t expect reconition or money,pad on the back or so…your reward is up in heaven. Do it with a cheerful heart. Remember everything we do is for christ.
I experienced Christ in my life at theage of 14 and I am 14. I was on my knees crying because of the sins I have committed and I was afraid of what the Lord might do to me. But I cried for repentance and I felt better after that. I am struggling with fighting against the devil instead of letting God take care of my events, but I learned that God will always be there for you and to seek God first and have faith in waiting for the Lord. Everything we do is by doing it through and to honor God. I have talked to some people about Christ and what he does for our life. I am glad to say that I am child of God. I don’t care what nobody says about my faith and what I believe in because I know that he is real. Do everythng with one accord.