Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1

It’s now been over a year since I have been to Africa. It wasn’t supposed to be this way, but as with Paul in 1 Thessalonians, “For we wanted to come to you–certainly I, Paul, did, again and again–but Satan blocked our way.” This is the longest gap in my travels since 2012. It’s easy to lose focus during a time like this. It’s easy to forget what the race is, what the goal is, and just give up, or move onto something else. This is why I go back to Hebrews. “Let us run with perseverance.”  The fact that it needed to be written is evidence that others have gone through the same thing. I’d like to focus on the rest of that verse though as well.

With Christmas coming, the opportunities to give and to serve multiply. Go through the checkout at a store, and they will inevitably ask you, “Would you like to give to the International Fund to Teach Origami to the Poor?” or any number of other less fictitious charities. Go outside and the Salvation Army is ringing the bell and asking for donations. Churches and charities of all kinds give people opportunities to serve in one capacity or another. These of course are good things, because they give people who don’t normally give or serve an opportunity to do so. But for people who are running the race marked out for us, they are also an opportunity for distraction.

I’ve heard it said before that the good is the enemy of the best. In fact, even good things can be “the sin that so easily entangles.”  How is that even possible, one might ask. How can something that is good not be good? Something that is good becomes sin when it distracts you from what you are supposed to be doing, from the course marked out for you. My wife used to have a mug that said, “Stop volunteering for stuff”. If you have been given a vision to see something run to completion, and other projects, noble or not, are getting in the way of that vision, that is when good things become something that entangles.

Now before someone asks you to volunteer and you say, “Well, I would, except that some missionary on the internet told me I shouldn’t,” understand that’s not what I’m saying. I’m only saying that if you are following the Vision that God has given you, and other opportunities come up as they always will, it’s ok to say no if it will be a distraction. The Church and the mission field are full of burned out people who not only fulfill their Vision, but any of the other projects they’ve taken on. Studies have shown that in the workplace, after a certain number of hours worked, people become not only less productive per hour, but less productive overall than someone working less. It is the same concept in ministry and missions. People carry a lot of guilt over feeling like they should always be doing more, but this should not be received. I’ve seen a sign that said, “Jesus is coming back. Look busy.” How many people live that way? We are not called to busyness, we’re called to obedience. Often busyness is the opposite of obedience, as we chase after every squirrel that comes along in the form of volunteer opportunities.

In March, God willing, I will go back to Ethiopia. Other opportunities within the same vision are also possibly opening up. But in either case, I must not become distracted, or take on additional weight as I seek to run that race. I will do my best to live a life that is an act of worship, and not an act of busyness.