The Problem with Competency

 

 

I have no ease, I have no quietness;

I cannot rest; turmoil has come upon me.”

Job 3:26

 

Then I considered all the skillful work that is done:

Surely it is nothing more than competition between one person and another.

This also is profitless—like chasing the wind.

The fool folds his hands and does no work,

so he has nothing to eat but his own flesh.

Better is one handful with some rest

than two hands full of toil and chasing the wind.

Ecclesiastes 4:4-6

 

Dressed in black leggings and a black turtleneck tunic, I pulled on black socks, black quiet-sole sneakers, and finished it all with a black mask and beanie. I was ready. Back flat against brick I crept around the building and slipped unnoticed inside. 

I tiptoed toward the massive door. The words engraved across its smooth surface confronted me, threatening to sound an alarm:

My Time.

With the small tool I’d concealed in my pocket, I quickly broke the lock. I was in!

Official-looking, carefully labeled boxes lined the walls from floor to ceiling. Because I am an organized armed robber who carefully considers others who might need My Time, I grabbed only what I needed. No time for greed.

I was gone as quickly as I came.

As I drove away in my electric, no-noise car, I could hear the chaos breaking out behind me as word spread.

I had stolen back some of my own Time.

 

Taking back your time can feel like an act of armed robbery.

Resting on Sabbath may mean no work emails, no work, period. Protecting a day away to make your soul available to God, to be still and know, may mean saying no to something good. Someone you love.

How do I get off the hamster wheel?

The question was sincere, from one who freely and generously gives her time and care to those in need. One whose husband gives tirelessly at a mission hospital where to say no might actually mean death to one in need. Can he say no and still honor God?

God’s people are growing weary.

As their competency grows, so does their capacity. The problem with competency is that the more competent we become, the more we take on and the more we are asked to take on. We’ve all heard the expression, If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it. 

Choosing #rest can be downright confrontational. #soulcare Share on X

The more competence and capacity one has, the more confrontational the word no becomes. The problem with competency is, the more we say yes, the less we rest. The less we sit still and know God is God and we are not.

Choosing rest is humbling. Competency operates in many currencies, among them admiration, approval, fame, and value. Choosing to say no may be costly and uncomfortable. One must entrust her reputation to the Lord even as she takes the time to be still before Him. Those who rest when they can do more aren’t often described as selfless, or amazing, or I don’t know how he does it.

Imagine two scenarios. 

In one, you rise in the morning, listen to the Bible app as you brush your teeth, and rush out into your tightly scheduled day (although you did allow a ten-minute margin between back-to-back meetings to allow for a bathroom break.) Every minute is scheduled with important things, valued people, and honorable causes. In Jesus’ name. By bedtime, it’s hard to turn off your spinning thoughts, but you finally manage after checking your phone one more time.

In the other scenario, you wake in the morning and make yourself sit still with the Word. You impose thirty minutes of silence on yourself (be quiet, noisy mind!) and listen for what God wants to say to your soul. Then, with Him, you stand up and go out into your day, in careful step with Him, listening attentively to His Spirit throughout the day even as you listen to others and set your hands to the work He brings (which may include interruptions, unexpected circumstances, and people you wouldn’t have otherwise taken time for). At bedtime, you quiet your mind and review the moments you felt the joy of His action and presence that day and give thanks. You entrust the rest to Him and go to sleep.

A rhythm of rest allows us to listen better to the Lord. It improves our spiritual eyesight and increases our joy. It improves our sleep at night. Jesus did it. We should too.

Lord, help me be still and know You are God, then move through each day with inner stillness in the middle of the hullabaloo. Amen.

@audreycfrank

Photo by Todd Quackenbush on Unsplash