March/April 2002
Sit Down and Relax
by Susan Reedy
| No matter how hard we work or how big our earthly treasure is, this life is never going to be enough. |
Two fishermen sat aboard their boats along the New England coast. Both had been out since before dawn, throwing their nets, circling the fish and pulling in their catch. The fish were plentiful, and the first fisherman reached his desired quota early in the day. He turned his boat around and began heading back to shore. The second fisherman yelled at him to pull alongside.
"Why are you ending early?" he asked. "If you stay to catch more fish, you could afford to buy nylon nets. And if you get better and stronger nylon nets, you could catch more fish and afford to buy a bigger boat. And if you get a bigger boat, you could hire a bigger crew and catch even more fish!"
The first fisherman replied, "Yeah, but then what would I do?"
"Ah," the gnarled fisherman sighed as he gazed over the water, "then you could sit down and relax."
To which the first fisherman replied, "What do you think I'm doing now?"
This story struck a nerve, and I had to give myself a self-reproving chuckle. So many times I've believed that contentment was just around the corner, over the next hill or after the next pay raise. If I keep struggling enough, working that extra hour, taking on that extra client, I'll find the contentment I need to finally sit down and relax.
I just need to have everything perfect first, whether it's a perfectly clean house, a perfectly reliable car or perfectly respectful children. Once every little duck is in a row, then and only then, is it time to relax. But it doesn't happen. There will always be more fish to catch and a bigger boat to buy.
I'm not saying that hard work isn't a good thing. It's just not the real thing. No matter how hard we work or how big our earthly treasure is, this life is never going to be enough. It will never be perfect, so there will never be the perfect time for us to sit down and relax.
But when I don't make the time to sit down and relax, I don't make room for the truly important things. I don't make room for my children or my husband. I don't make room for God. I get so absorbed in this world that I forget to contribute to my eternal retirement fund, storing up treasure in heaven.
Even King Solomon, who had some bucks, realized that working for wealth on earth doesn't mean much. He observed that a lonely man who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can eventually asks himself, "'Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?' It is all so meaningless and depressing" (Ecclesiastes 4:7-8, NLT).
Jesus elaborated on the pointlessness of worrying so much about earthly matters. After a beautiful illustration of how God cares for the birds of the air and the flowers in the field, Jesus says, "What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving" (Matthew 6:31, The Message).
Later, when the disciples got justifiably nervous over the logistics of feeding 5,000 with only 5 loaves of bread, Jesus simply "directed the people to sit down" (Matthew 14:19), while he looked up to heaven and gave thanks. Things worked out just fine.
I wish I took more time to sit down, look up and give thanks. I want my eyes to be fixed on my eternal treasure. When I'm staying late to catch more fish, I'm keeping my feet bound firmly to this earthly terra firma.
I want to dock my travel-weary ship, pull into God's port and sit down and relax. I want to learn to be happy with what I have and avoid the curse of "somewhere over the rainbow" thinking. True and lasting treasure is built in those moments when we focus on the things that are eternal, when we take the time to really be with family, friends and God. So, head back to shore when you can. Why wait until retirement to enjoy true riches?
-- Susan Reedy