Modern Conflicts ...

Friday, Sept 13, 2013. We had a discussion recently about the density of modern work. In many areas of our world we see that the work density has strongly increased over the past years. As a doctor working in a hospital, it is very difficult to do your work within your working hours - most of these people have to work long over-hours, without additional pay.

Biblical Warning …

In many other parts, in public institutions as well as companies, the number of workers has been reduced in a process of becoming more efficient. But there are limits in efficiency. And at some point, the workload is so large that the whole process breaks down, it does not function any more.

When the workload increases, you have to set priorities. It is not possible to complete every task, and some tasks will be left over. They will not be done at all. What are the priorities we should set? Let us have a look into one of the best known passage of the New Testament, where Jesus talks about this point, the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7):

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Matthew 6, 19-24) A different Concept …**

Jesus questions our priorities. He wants us to rethink our activities. That leads to a quite fundamental critique of modern attitudes and processes! We should not take this lightly. I can completely understand, if you say: I do not have time for this, I have too much to do, and then I need a break.

As responsible members of society, we are all quite stretched. In our bible study group, several of us have kids and family, they have their job, they attend church and there are the larger families, with parents and friends. If you have some kind of career in your job, if you are responsible for your local branch, or if you are leading a project, perhaps you coordinate something with your mother company in Japan or the US or Europe … then every day there is the question of priority - and of what fills your mind and your heart!

Jesus invites us, to set God's kingdom onto the first place. He invites us to first search him, his presence, his wisdom, his guidance. Then, all other things will fall in place.

We need to see that Jesus offers us a different concept than our standard working mode which all modern institutions are based on. It is not putting the worldly tasks first, but putting his tasks first! But he does not say we should be less efficient or less smart than the others - on the contrary we will be more efficient and quite smart. We first search him, and then with him in our mind and our heart, we solve the daily problems of our job and environment. With him, we will find wise solutions, there is a big promise involved here! (Roland Potthast) ... more texts