“The apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves. The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them. When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.” (Mark 6:30-34 NASB1995)
“Me Time,” a time to rest and relax, or a time to get away from the work we are assigned to do is something that helps us stay balanced. Even Jesus saw the need for “Me Time,” is not just reserved time to spend with God, one-on-one in prayer, but to rest. However, in these days of deaccelerating church attendance, a definite, downward shift from church attendance numbers, distinctly different from a time, not that long ago, where believers seldom missed church, we have to look at the fact that in the passage above, and the remainder of the story below, staying in engaged in ministering to others is a priority. However, staying engaged with the church, that itself is a challenge when the faithful few end up being engaged in every ministry of the church, seemingly, because of the inability to delegate to those who are still focused on some form of “Me Time.”
To those of you who are part of the faithful few, keep focusing on engaging those who do come into the church, strive to involve them in ministry, serving, even if it starts with a small assignment or a task that does not require as much time as other tasks. That will come eventually with growth and understanding of the purpose of the church. The satisfaction those you engage in ministry will grow in their service because of the joy and satisfaction that comes from pleasing the Lord and because of the developed faith.
I will encourage you to take your “Me Time,” but don’t expand it until it becomes your constant, go-to, excuse for not attending church and/or attending to the work of the church. Again, look at Jesus’ example above.
I know that we have a lot of interference in these times, and many have reported on such things: societal views on Sunday as the day for worship, the offering of opportunities to work more hours and reach for economic advancement, the virtual worship convenience, the emergence of youth athletic leagues that play on Sunday, and travel many weekends, and unfortunately there are people that think they don’t need the church because they can do their own thing in terms of spirituality. Don’t let these things and other similar things impact you and interfere with your assembling with the saints for the purpose of being equipped, and to achieve the Lord’s expectation for us to work with the saints, and to stay engaged in kingdom building service. The Lord can still take small means and bring about great results. Look at the rest of the story in Mark 6 in the closing verses. See how compassion re-prioritizes “Me Time.”
Take your “Me Time,” but remember we have to emulate how the Master spent His time. We are to deny ourselves and follow Him, are we not? Look at His priorities in the same passage. Then think about your “My Time” my friend. Here is something I thought about in response who will say they are just taking a timeout. It is a sports analogy. You don’t play the game when you call time out. Engaging in the Lord’s work is no game. It’s serious! It helps save souls, near and afar. Call “time in!” Be blessed!
“When it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate, and it is already quite late; send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” But He answered them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?” And He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” And He commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass. They sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and broke the loaves and He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them; and He divided up the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces, and also of the fish. There were five thousand men who ate the loaves.” (Mark 6:35-40 NASB 1995)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King