A Different Spin on Shyness and Procrastination.

 I am draw to the antithetical.  Thus, this quote from Oswald Chambers, gave me pause this morning: 

"Shyness is often unmitigated conceit, an unconscious over-estimate of your own worth; you are not prepared to speak until you have a proper audience." 

The same is true of "shyness in inaction," also known as procrastination.  People often say they procrastinate because they don't know what to do or what to say.  I say that's a load of crap.  Anyone with a brain (and last time I checked, that's everyone) has an initial thought about everything.  Often, we have to test-drive the idea against logic and our inner value system.  Once the idea has made it through those crucibles, we have to decide what to do with it.  

For people who procrastinate, the decision to self-sabotage is preferable to risk. In essence, procrastination, and if you subscribe to Oswald Chambers logic (which I often do), shyness, are at their core forms of self-centeredness.  I know that sounds harsh, but it's just calling it what it is without ascribing all the usual connotations associated with the word, self-centered. 

How are these two self-centered?  Logically, it seems the exact opposite. The short explanation is that the one who chooses to be shy, and who chooses to procrastinate, is denying the world an idea or message because s/he has decided that the message or idea (created and inspired for that particular moment in time) is not worth the risk to ego, is not worth the effort to say it, and is not worthy of the world's ears or consideration. 

So does it mean you're a bad person if you're shy or if you procrastinate? If that's all you see, and if that's your first reaction, then you missed my point. It's just a different perspective on a concept, and I just decided to not be shy or procrastinate about sharing it today. 

Seek Him. Period.

 This year, I had a goal to do some thinking and writing in regard to Advent.  It hasn't gone the way I planned, but as usual, my foiled plans have brought me to better places. 

Focus is pivotal when it comes to how we live our lives.  What we see (literally and figuratively) determines where we put our energy. While there are a lot of entities that will lay claim on visualization and mindfulness, Jesus was the first on in on the concept.  There are many verses in the Bible in which He cautions us to be mindful of our thoughts and where we put our efforts (energy). 

This morning, I was reading in Luke 12, and here is evidence of that claim:  

29: "Don't strive for what you should eat and what you should drink, and don't be anxious."

34: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." 

Work takes up about a third (and sadly, pushes to take more) of our lives.  Typically, the motivations regarding work are myriad: Earning respect and prestige, leaving a legacy, fulfilling a life's calling or purpose, and of course, earning money. 

That last one, money, is the lubrication for life's joints. It pays the bills for all the necessities such as food, heat, a home to live in, transportation, etc. 

The problem starts when we shift from thinking of it as lubrication to regarding it as lifeblood.  In other words, there are times (and undeniably, it has happened to everyone) when the main focus of our energy and work becomes money - the getting of it and the spending of it.  

Our quest to get more, our misguided ideas that what we are paid to do for work is commensurate to our value, our obedience to the proven fallacy that more money (and therefore, more acquisitions and experiences) equals happiness all consume our focus and energy. In short, work and money become the little altars, one for each eye, that block our vision as to what is most important in life.  Not only does it shift our focus; an unintended consequence is that it also open the door to other joy stealers: Anxiety, jealousy, fatigue, criticism, and so on. But as Jesus said in Luke 12: 23: "Life is more than food and the body more than clothing."

Ok, so what IS most important in life? Well, it depends on the day. In verse 31, Jesus reassures us and challenges us when He says:  "But seek His Kingdom, and these things will be provided for you."  Our true work is to SEEK HIM. Period. 

He literally will take care of the rest - literally and figuratively. In the physical sense, He has promised that these things (food/clothing) will be provided for us (read the surrounding verses in Luke 12 where He talks about wildflowers and birds). 

On a deeper, most important level, when we seek Him, He shows us what He wants and expects us to do.  Sometimes, it's picking up the phone when a seemingly-random face comes to mind with an accompanying urge to call or text.  Sometimes, it's swinging around in line and starting up a conversation with the person behind you because you feel an inexplicable nudge.  And sometimes, it is leaving the unfamiliar for the unknown simply because it's clear to see where God is opening and closing doors.  To live like this requires a shift in focus.  If all we see is work, and all we focus on is money, we miss out on the most important thing in life: Why I was even put here on Earth in the first place.  

It may sound a little too simplistic, but as usual, that's because we humans make it complicated.