Sermon Archive

This morning we continue our summer study on conquering the joy robbers. There are many things we face in life that can rob us of the joy that we desperately long for. The key to conquering these joy robbers is found in our theme verse Romans 8:37 which says, "In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." A vital relationship with Jesus Christ is the key to conquering any joy robber.

Do you ever feel your life is out of control? Do you have too many irons in the fire? Are you busier now than ever before? Do you ever feel there are just not enough hours in the day? Does fatigue frequently set in? Are you on the verge of burnout? Well, welcome to the rat race, one of the most common joy robbers. Today I want to teach you how you can conquer the rat race.

"Rat race" is an idiom that has its roots in the early 1900s referring to a rat's desperate struggle for survival. The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms describes rat race as "fierce competition to maintain or improve one's position in the workplace or social life; an exhausting routine that leaves no time for relaxation."

We're all too busy, aren't we? And we take a lot of pride in how busy we are. We talk about the twenty things we have to accomplish today, as if our overloaded schedules will impress our colleagues. Busyness actually is a form of addiction. We call it workaholism. We may think that our never-ending, ever-growing assignments are impressive. But they are not. The rat race will hinder your spiritual growth, damage your walk with Christ, and suck every ounce of joy from your life. Eugene Peterson, author of The Message, said, "I can be active and pray; I can work and pray; but I cannot be busy and pray."

So what's the solution? Well, you could do something like what Kusum Mudnani from India did. She was the daughter of a high-ranking diplomat. She was a world traveler and studied in France. She entered a fast-paced, high-pressure career in the field of advertising. She worked with some of the most creative minds and top advertising agencies in the world. But there came a point she could not handle the rat race any more. So she bought a small house in the middle of the jungle, away from everything. She maintains a meager income by freelancing communication packages for companies, which requires going into town maybe once a month. She makes enough to survive.

I guess that's one way to handle the rat race. Just move into some desolate area and become a hermit. But beware. Dutch psychologist Ad Vingerhoets has isolated a phenomenon he calls "leisure sickness." It is common among those high-achieving men and women who decide to leave the rat race by downshifting so they can live a quieter life. The sickness is mild in nature but carries symptoms like fatigue, boredom, nausea, headaches, and recurrent infections.

There's got to be a better answer, and there is. I want to take the premise that you can never eliminate the stress in your life, but you can do a better job of managing it. So let me mention a handful of practical things you can do to conquer the rat race.

First, make deliberate efforts to slow down. When I use the term "slow down," it brings back to my memory the words to a popular song years ago written by Paul Simon: "Slow down, you move to fast. You got to make the morning last. Just kicking down the cobblestones. Looking for fun and feeling groovy." It is a song about slowing down and loving life.

Study the life of Jesus. He did more to change the world than any other. Yet He was never in a hurry. Even when one of his best friends was on His deathbed, He didn't frantically change His course and say to His followers, "Lazarus is dying. We've got to hurry." On another occasion the crowds were coming and going, all wanting their needs to be met my Jesus and His men. They didn't even have time to eat. Finally, Jesus said, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest" (Mark 6:31). Jesus recognized that they could not maintain that hectic pace.

Neither can you and neither can I. But we can slow down. There are some things we can say no too. We can establish some greater margins in our lives so that we aren't always pressed for time and worn to a frazzle. Walk slower. Drive slower. Stay in the same lane for longer. Take a handful of two-minute vacations during the day. Stop and talk to your next-door neighbor. Take a walk with your mate or child. Watch a bird in your feeder. Slow down.

Second, start each day with some minutes with God. The Bible is filled with examples of key leaders who spent time with God in the early morning hours. Jesus is the prime example: "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed" (Mark 1:35). Notice the words "Jesus got up." That might be the problem for many of you. To start the day with some minutes with God will require that you get up maybe a few minutes earlier. Or at least it might mean that you make some other adjustments in your morning routine.

Starting the day with God starts the day right. It gives you spiritual strength to face the challenges for the day. It helps you focus on the most important things of life. Even if it's just five minutes, before you leave the house, start your day by spending some minutes with God.

Third, don't take life too seriously. Laugh a lot. One of my favorite verses is Proverbs 17:22—"A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired" (Msg). When you're in the thick of the rat race, sometimes you're so into your agenda that you lose your cheerful edge. Laughter is good medicine. Smile. Tell a joke (a clean one that is). Have fun. Get that serious look off your face. Life is to be enjoyed. Chill out.

I want you to know that every staff member at Chapin Baptist is a hard worker. We're all probably borderline workaholics. But we enjoy what we do. But we also enjoy laughter. We enjoy chilling out—even though we probably don't do it enough.

Last week I celebrated my 50th birthday. What a great day! The staff decorated my office. I was greeted with a replica of my own AARP membership card. Sometimes we all go out for lunch to celebrate a birthday. The birthday person gets to choose the restaurant. But no—not this time. My staff chose the location. They blindfolded me. You're not going to believe where they took me to lunch. They took me to Generations (assisted living facility) where they rolled me in on a wheel chair and presented me with an "over-the-hill" birthday cake and all the essentials that a man 50 years old will need (Lowman home brochures, prune juice mix, and Gas-X.). I had a ball. Debbie didn't get too involved in the shenanigans because she turns 40 this summer. And Jeff turns 30.

Life is to be enjoyed. Don't take it so seriously. Laugh out loud. And laugh a lot.

Fourth, make time for friends. One of the casualties of a rat race lifestyle is that precious time with friends gets crowded out of your busy schedule. One of the things that impresses me about the early church in the book of Acts was the spirit of community that they shared with each other. They were devoted to fellowship. King Solomon said it well—"If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But people who are alone when they fall are in real trouble. And on a cold night, two under the same blanket can gain warmth from each other. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken" (Ecclesiastes 4:10-12, NLT).

May I confess to you that this is the one point where I probably need the most work. I get so caught up in family and ministry affairs that I don't make enough time to spend with friends. And I love being with people. One of my regrets is that I have not done a good job of staying in touch with high school and college friends. In the last few months a few of my college and seminary friends who live in the area have started getting together for lunch. Tomorrow I'm going to get to spend some time with a long-time friend who serves in Texas now. He's going to be in the area. I can't wait to see him. There are many Chapin Baptist members who are dear friends. I need to cultivate these friendships outside of church meetings.

Don't let the rat race lifestyle rob you of the joy of friendships. Make time for your friends. Build new friends.

Fifth, plan your week. The Bible says, "Careful planning puts you ahead in the long run; hurry and scurry puts you further behind" (Proverbs 21:5, Msg). When you get deep into the rat race, you don't know whether you're coming or going. And as busy as you are, you're not accomplishing the things that are most important in life.

Many of you live your life like the professor on Gilligan's Island. You find time to fashion generators out of palm trees and vaccines. But you never get around to fixing that huge hole in the boat so you can go home. In other words, you're too busy to do the most important things.

It's amazing what fifteen minutes of planning on a Sunday afternoon/evening can do to get your life more targeted. If you don't plan your week, someone else will be glad to do it for you. So what happens is we let all the pressures dictate how we spend our hours each day. Plan your week. Include your quiet time on the schedule. Include time with family and friends. Include time for Christian worship and service. Planning will make some order out of your chaos and restore joy.

Sixth, discover your spiritual pathway. Jesus said, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). The key to conquering the rat race is to stay in a vital union with Jesus Christ. God has wired us all differently. But it's important for you to discover the pathway that most effectively moves you toward this vital union.

Bill Hybel's book Courageous Leadership brought this concept to the attention of our staff pastors recently. We studied the various pathways to determine which best fit the way we are wired. I wish I had more time to develop this thought. But let me briefly explain. Some people feel most closely connected with God through relationships. Being alone is like solitary confinement to them. Then there is the intellectual pathway. We all had a good laugh when Garry Weeks said this was his pathway. Other pathways include the serving, contemplative, activist, creation, and worship.

Mine is the worship pathway. If I need a respite from the rat race, I put in a worship CD and I'm in touch with God. Many times on Saturday evenings, to get myself spiritually prepared for my preaching on Sunday morning, I go out on my screened-in porch, and with my disc-man and headphone, man, I feel like I'm at heaven's gate. For some of you, that wouldn't do a thing for you. You're closer to God if you're out enjoying nature or you're busy helping someone in need or you're out on the edge looking for one more thing to do. We're all different. But whatever your spiritual pathway is, discover it, and do not let the rat race crowd out this important element of your life.

Seventh, place high priority on weekly worship. My previous point spoke more to the issue of the private aspect of your vital union with God. Here I am talking about the importance of being in God's house with God's people every Sunday. Your attitude and habit should be like that expressed in one of David's songs, "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD" (Psalm 122:1).

The rat race gets pretty hectic. Through the week you get all beat up by the world. Worship in God's house on Sunday is like a filling station. You meet with God in praise and worship, and you're encouraged by being with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Your spiritual engine gets filled with the strength and courage to face the challenges of the week ahead. Don't neglect this most important aspect of your lives.

Let me close with one key verse which summarizes everything I have said this morning. "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). That says it all. Slow down. Take some time to plan. Find your spiritual pathway. Be in your place of worship. Laugh a lot. Spend time with God each day. And make room for your friends. And remember, in Christ you are more than conquerors. Stop letting the rat race rob you of joy. In Christ there is hope and help.

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