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Presented by Lauren Stibgen
Busyness. We all succumb to it. Just how busy are you? If you are too busy to know if your patterns are creating anxiety in the people at work, then I would ask you to consider how available you are to the people around you. If you are running from meeting to meeting and task to task like the proverbial chicken with its head cut off, take a moment to pause and consider what you aren’t seeing.
Jesus had the very best eyes to see what was happening around him. Now, one might argue that he had a God-sized advantage in all of this, but the way he saw people and taught his disciples to see people is a model for us today.
Are you seeing the person who doesn’t seem to quite fit in with others. Maybe they have a reputation that precedes them. Perhaps they have something outside of work causing them anxiety, which in turn has caused them to retreat. Like Jesus, do you extend time to get to know them?
Think about how Jesus treats Zacchaeus. He was a tax collector and not very well liked. And he was described as small in stature. As crowds of people followed Jesus, he stopped to call out to this small, unliked man to have dinner (Luke 19). With a spring in his step and a who-me attitude, he wholeheartedly turns from his sin. Take time to see someone. Perhaps offer to have lunch or a cup of coffee. You never know how your presence may be the peace they need in the moment.
You can’t be available if you are too busy to be present to others. Jesus also modeled something to his disciples that many of us need help with—delegation. Jesus’ ministry grew rapidly. Think about the 5,000 people who had gathered to hear Jesus. They needed to be fed. Aside from the miracle of the bread and fish, Jesus instructed his disciples on how to organize the crowds and distribute the food (John 6).
Later in the book of Acts, as the church continued to grow, the disciples were hearing grumbling that some of the gentile widows were not being served. They selected 7 deacons or leaders to help ensure that these widows were being served (Acts 6).
Your presence in reflecting kindness and care like Jesus and the disciples may depend on reducing your own anxiety by delegating! You simply can’t be peace if you are anxious yourself.