“I’m too busy”, is one of the most frequent responses I get to the question, “how are you?” I have a suspicion that the busyness of most peoples lives is actually robbing them of the joy of life that God intended. Too many of us are living in a perpetual sense of guilt because we don’t have the time to give to the things that we think are important. Things like family, friends and even ministry (service). Sure we still try to find time for all these things, but its not the quality time we would wish or even crave for.

Paul when writing to the busy young Pastor Timothy (1 Tim 4: 11-16) gave him this advice. “Pay attention to reading, to exhortation and to teaching. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given through prophecy when the elders laid hands on you... Pay attention to yourself.”

I think that Paul was encouraging the young Timothy to do a few things well: to focus on his calling and his gifting, not to let the busyness of ministry and life stop his personal development, the sort of person he was becoming. Paul was encouraging Timothy to make sure that his life was balanced and focused, advice that seems particularly relevant to us today.

Timothy, as a Pastor, was told to give attention to “reading, exhortation and to teaching.” Reading is about preparation, thinking, reflection and learning and is most often a solitary exercise. Exhortation is about investing in others and encouraging them. Teaching was his job; it was what he was called to do. That for me is particularly pertinent. We all need to focus our attention on the things that we are called to and consequently gifted to do, things that invariably energise us and encourage others.

For too many of us church has become a chore and serving something simply done out of duty. I believe that God wants us to recover the joy of serving and to rediscover the beauty of worship and the enrichment of the relationships to which we are all called. Paul’s advice to Timothy seems a good place to start.