Ministry involves a constant flow of activity. We prepare sermons. We deliver sermons. We organize events or programs. We facilitate meetings. We visit the sick. We counsel hurting people. We supervise staff. We review budgets. No matter the size or setting of the congregation, there is always something to do.
Work is good. Doing good work is even better. But Thomas Merton warns us about the shadow side to the non-stop activity we often use to define our significance to ourselves and to others. In “Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander,” Merton reflects:
“There is a pervasive form of modern violence to which the idealist…most easily succumbs: activism and over-work. The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence.”
It is true that some people are busy because their survival demands it. What Merton refers to, however, is not the busyness that stems from doing what is required to care for one’s family. He makes a specific reference to “the idealist.” This is the person who is changing the world, championing a cause or fighting the good fight.
That person, Merton writes, discovers that:
“The frenzy of the activist neutralizes his [or her] work…It destroys the fruitfulness of his [or her]…work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.”
What makes your work fruitful? What makes your congregation’s work fruitful? To experience more of God’s inner wisdom, we need to resist the frenzy of overwork and embrace the gifts of silence and solitude. As you make plans for the work you want to accomplish, don’t forget to slow down enough for all to be well with your soul.
