My Take on the Tyranny of the Urgent

I didn't get Monday's to do list finished. Not even close. Lots of loose ends continued dangling, and I added one more for good measure - a popped tire. An act of sheer idiocy on my part - that's all I'm going to say about it.

After AAA came and changed my tire (this was my second claim in as many months - they'd better either make me a stockholder or revoke my membership), I fought off feelings of frustration and tried to work on updating my book proposal for Belabored. 

No, it hasn't yet been published. This is simply the newest iteration of my pitch to hopefully make agents sit up and take notice of a book I believe (if I do say so myself) has great merit and mind-changing potential. 

That said, the proposal at this stage is flatter than my tire was before the AAA guy swapped it with the donut.

Which reminds me - I'm not sure which is falling apart faster, my body or my car's. The tire has now been replaced, but poor Alex has more bumps and bruises than, well, than I do at this point, and that's saying something. My left shoulder is all out of whack, rebelling angrily anytime I tie on an apron or do a jumping jack (then again, my last round of calisthenics happened around the turn of the century, so no worries there). My right wrist, not wanting to be left out, decided to go on strike at the same time. 

But, hey, I can adapt. For instance, I can hold a glass in the left hand while directing traffic with the other. As long as I don't switch up the two, all's well. 

That'll come in handy if I'm ever called upon to bus tables during a pileup.

Getting back to to do lists, Tuesday's didn't fare much better than its predecessor's. In short, life right now is a series of unchecked boxes, a dog paddling routine, a waiting game. Too many agenda items, not all of them essential, but to me they feel important.

Following through on a promise I made to the guy who gave me stellar roadside assistance the other day. Lamenting the fact that I couldn't give him a tip, I took his card and offered to write him a good review. 

Review writing takes time.

Mailing out a check with a tip for the guys who skimmed my friends and me across the back bays of North Cape May last week. The boat ride was enchanting, but we didn't have a dime between us for a tip.

A few dollars, a few more minutes.

Getting this bleeping proposal tweaked and sent off to the publishing house which expressed interest back in June! Admittedly, I haven't just been playing Tiddlywinks all summer; the publisher suggested some market research to gauge interest might make the thing look more appealing to potential agents, so I've been doing that.

Time, time and more time. 

Financial business. Thank goodness I have finances to worry about, but that's just it - if I don't manage them, who will?

Ka ching! Time is money.

Someone once told me when God made time, He made enough of it. If only I could get my gut to agree with my brain on that piece of wisdom.

This blog entry pretty much wrote itself a couple nights ago when yours truly was trying to fall asleep. After taking care of the most pressing priorities, it was either type up my notes for this or work on the proposal.

I didn't even need to flip a coin.

OK, changing gears now. I no longer feel like being amusing (assuming I was successful in that effort in the first place). Having paused the article after that last sentence, I received news of a situation requiring my action in short order. Neither the circumstances nor the deadline excites me; quite the opposite, in fact. I now have a major new obstacle redirecting me from what I thought was my top priority, the book proposal (alright, so I back burnered that in favor of blogging - what of it?). 

I hear myself sounding whiny, and feel disinclined to change my tone. I am whining, doggone it! As I suspect is the case with many writers, it's extremely difficult to rouse oneself into the writing mode when one has gotten out of practice. Perhaps it's like riding a bike in some ways - the skill does come back quickly, but not without a few tumbles and the need to reacquaint oneself with the basic mechanics of the job. When that process keeps getting interrupted, the whole re-learning curve takes that much longer.

The Tyranny of the Urgent comes to mind. I once blogged about that subject, and am feeling the same kind of angst that I did then. 

My mother once pined after Dad was admitted, yet again, to the hospital through the ER, "Where do I go to accept this?"

I find myself reshaping Mom's question thusly: "Where do I go to prioritize all this?" 

The answer was then and still is the same: the cross.

"A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps."

Proverbs 16:9

Suicide in the Scriptures

Hi beloved readers,

In obedience to the Lord, I have prepared the following notes to be presented tomorrow morning in the Bible study I lead. Excuse the imperfections in the outline format; instead, focus on the message. I believe God wants all of us to complete the years He intends for us and stay the course. I pray any who are contemplating "a permanent solution to a temporary problem" will stop long enough to skim this material and think again. 

God bless you, and remember, life really is worth living!

Note: these concepts are adapted with deep appreciation from the following: 

https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/bible-says-about-suicide.html

Bible Study 8/14/21: Suicide in the Scriptures

A.   Bible characters who chose suicide:

 1)    Samson’s suicide after yielding to lust and pride:

Judges 16:28-30: “Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.” ²⁹ And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. ³⁰ And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So, the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life.”

2)    Abimelech’s suicide after making a power grab and being mortally wounded by a woman:

     Judges 9:50-54: “Then Abimelech went to Thebez and encamped against Thebez and         captured it. ⁵¹ But there was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women and      all the leaders of the city fled to it and shut themselves in, and they went up to the roof of         the tower. ⁵² And Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it and drew near to the         door of the tower to burn it with fire. ⁵³ And a certain woman threw an upper millstone on         Abimelech's head and crushed his skull. ⁵⁴ Then he called quickly to the young man his          armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, ‘A woman      killed him.’” And his young man thrust him through, and he died.”

 3)    King Saul’s suicide after being wounded and losing his sons in battle with Israel’s enemies, the Philistines:

1 Samuel 31:1-4: “Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. ² And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. ³ The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. ⁴ Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore, Saul took his own sword and fell upon it.”

4)    Ahithophel’s suicide after his commanding officer, Absalom, spurned his counsel:

2 Samuel 17:23: ^“When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and went off home to his own city. He set his house in order and hanged himself, and he died and was buried in the tomb of his father.”

5)    Zimri’s suicide after assassinating the king of Israel and usurping the throne (think Hitler’s suicide – when all was lost, he chose to take his own life rather than face the consequences of his actions):

 

1 Kings 16:15-19: “In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned seven days in Tirzah. Now the troops were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, ¹⁶ and the troops who were encamped heard it said, “Zimri has conspired, and he has killed the king.” Therefore, all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp. ¹⁷ So Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah. ¹⁸ And when Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the king's house and burned the king's house over him with fire and died, ¹⁹ because of his sins that he committed, doing evil in the sight of the Lord, walking in the way of Jeroboam, and for his sin which he committed, making Israel to sin.”

 

6)    Judas’s suicide after betraying Christ:

Matthew 27:3-5: “Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus^[a] was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, ⁴ saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” ⁵ And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself.”

B.    Some Bible characters who contemplated suicide, and how God enabled them to carry on (this list is not exhaustive):

 

1)    Moses when overwhelmed with responsibility:

Numbers 11:11-14: Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? ¹² Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,’ to the land that you swore to give their fathers? ¹³ Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ ¹⁴ I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. ¹⁵ If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.”

God’s answer: stop trying to go it alone!

Numbers 11:16-17: “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. ¹⁷ And I will come down and talk with you there. And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone.”

2)    Job when everything that mattered was taken from him:

Job 3:1-26: “After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. ² And Job said: ³ “Let the day perish on which I was born, and the night that said, ‘A man is conceived.’ ⁴ Let that day be darkness! May God above not seek it, nor light shine upon it. ⁵ Let gloom and deep darkness claim it. Let clouds dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. ⁶ That night—let thick darkness seize it! Let it not rejoice among the days of the year; let it not come into the number of the months. ⁷ Behold, let that night be barren; let no joyful cry enter it. ⁸ Let those curse it who curse the day, who are ready to rouse up Leviathan. ⁹ Let the stars of its dawn be dark; let it hope for light, but have none, nor see the eyelids of the morning, ¹⁰ because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb, nor hide trouble from my eyes. ¹¹ “Why did I not die at birth, come out from the womb and expire? ¹² Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should nurse? ¹³ For then I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept; then I would have been at rest, ¹⁴ with kings and counselors of the earth who rebuilt ruins for themselves, ¹⁵ or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver.
¹⁶ Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child, as infants who never see the light? ⁷ There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest. ¹⁸ There the prisoners are at ease together; they hear not the voice of the taskmaster. ¹⁹ The small and the great are there, and the slave is free from his master. ²⁰ “Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul, ²¹ who long for death, but it comes not, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures, ²² who rejoice exceedingly and are glad when they find the grave? ²³ Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? ²⁴ For my sighing comes instead of^[a] my bread, and my groanings are poured out like water. ²⁵ For the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me. ²⁶ I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, but trouble comes.” See also Job 7, Job 10

Principles Job used to “talk himself down off the ledge”:

a.    God has big shoulders – be honest with Him!

Job 13:14-15: “Why should I take my flesh in my teeth and put my life in my hand? ¹⁵ Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face.”

b.    Remember Who is still in charge.

Job 16:19: “Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and he who testifies for me is on high.”

c.    Think about what may happen after you take your life.

Job 17:13-16: “If I hope for Sheol [i.e., the grave] as my house, if I make my bed in darkness, ¹⁴ if I say to the pit, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’ ¹⁵ where then is my hope? Who will see my hope? ¹⁶ Will it go down to the bars of Sheol? Shall we descend together into the dust?”

d.    Remember this life is not all there is. There is life after death, and we can look forward to seeing God AFTER our work here is done.

Job 19:25-27: “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. ²⁶ And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in^[c] my flesh I shall see God, ²⁷ whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.”

e.    Consider how God may be using what you’re going through.

Job 23:9-15: “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him; ⁹ on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him. ¹⁰ But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold. ¹¹ My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. ¹² I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food. ¹³ But he is unchangeable,^[b] and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does. ¹⁴ For he will complete what he appoints for me, and many such things are in his mind. ¹⁵ Therefore I am terrified at his presence; when I consider, I am in dread of him.”

f.     Don’t kid yourself that you’re more powerful than God.

Job 26:14: “Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?”

g.    Ask other believers for help!

Job 30:24, 28: “Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand, and in his disaster cry for help? …  I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.”

h.    Let God be God.

Job 42:1-3: “Then Job answered the Lord and said: ² “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ³ ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore, I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”

3)    Jeremiah when he was beaten and put in the stocks for sharing the message God gave him.

Jeremiah 20:14-18: “Cursed be the day on which I was born! The day when my mother bore me, let it not be blessed! ¹⁵ Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father, “A son is born to you,” making him very glad. ¹⁶ Let that man be like the cities that the Lord overthrew without pity; let him hear a cry in the morning and an alarm at noon, ¹⁷ because he did not kill me in the womb; so my mother would have been my grave, and her womb forever great. ¹⁸ Why did I come out from the womb to see toil and sorrow, and spend my days in shame?”

God’s answer: Stay the course! This won’t last forever.

Jeremiah 29:11-13:  ^“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare^[b] and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. ¹² Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

Jeremiah 31:13,16-17: “I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow… Thus says the Lord: “Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work, declares the Lord, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. ¹⁷ There is hope for your future, declares the Lord…”

Principles Jeremiah used to “talk himself down off the ledge”:

a.    Remember the character of God.

 

Lamentations 3:22-26, 31-32: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; ²³ they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ²⁴ “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” ²⁵ The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.

²⁶ It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord… For the Lord will not cast off forever, ³² but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love…”

b.    Recall God’s past deliverance.

 Lamentations 3:55-58: “I called on your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit; ⁵⁶ you heard my plea, ‘Do not close your ear to my cry for help!’ ⁵⁷ You came near when I called on you; you said, ‘Do not fear!’ ⁵⁸ “You have taken up my cause, O Lord; you have redeemed my life.

 c.    Trust Him to fight for you!

 Lamentations 3:64-66: “You will repay them,^[c] O Lord, according to the work of their hands. ⁶⁵ You will give them dullness of heart; your curse will be on them. ⁶⁶ You will pursue them in anger and destroy them from under your heavens, O Lord.”

d.    Remember Who is still in charge.

Lamentations 5:19: “But you, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations.”

4)    Paul when he was discouraged in his ministry.

2 Corinthians 5:1-8: “For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ² For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our ^[b]habitation which is from heaven, ³ if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. ⁴ For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as ^]a guarantee. ⁶ So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. ⁷ For we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸ We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”

Principle Paul used to “talk himself down off the ledge”:

a.    Think how your suicide will affect others.

Philippians 1:21-26: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²² But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I ^[d]cannot tell. ^23 [e]For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. ²⁴ Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. ²⁵ And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, ²⁶ that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.”

Reward for Paul’s staying the course:

2 Timothy 4:6-8: “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

Conclusions:

1.    People who committed suicide in the Scriptures generally had poor character and are not to be admired or emulated.

2.    Many Bible heroes contemplated suicide but did not act on those impulses. Rather, they sought help and found ways to “talk themselves down from the ledge.”

3.    How wonderful to come to the end of your life knowing you lived out all the days God intended for you, and that He will reward believers for staying the course!