Post #16 -- BEING More -- DOING Less

A friend recently commented, “Now that we’re becoming seniors, the challenge is to focus on “BEING More and DOING Less”.  I admit my first response to this comment was not a positive one.  After all, I’m a doer and to contemplate DOING less simply did not sit well with me.  But after pondering this during some quiet moments, God began to cause me to see a bigger picture.  Yes, for us “old guys” there comes a time, because of the usual physical limitations that come with age, the demand for us to “do life” as we’ve always done it begins to change.  

But it also occurred to me that as followers of Jesus, God’s priority concern for all of us, regardless of age, is on what we’re becoming, not what we’re doing for Him.  BEING always precedes DOING at any age!

The Psalmist expresses God’s desire for us in Psalm 51:17 — “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (ESV)  God indeed is first concerned about our hearts and minds — and then our hands and feet.  

We typically want to DO like Jesus, but we must first BE like Jesus!

This is certainly not to minimize the importance of DOING what God has called His followers to do— activities like caring for the poor, ministering to the sick and broken, becoming fruitful and reproductive, being a positive influence in the culture around us, and much more.  But to be focused on DOING these good things without first BEING the man or woman God intends for us to be, invariably results in an empty and frustrating journey.  Stated another way, if done right our DOING will naturally flow out of our BEING.

Both BEING and DOING are modeled in the biblical story of Mary and Martha. (Luke 10:38-42).  Martha chose to busily prepare dinner for her special guest, while Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to Him teach.  Yet Martha was chided for being “worried and upset about many things” while Mary was commended for having “chosen what is better, and will not be taken away from her”.  In our own way, each of us makes similar choices all through life — will we be busily doing good things or will we also find adequate time to sit at Jesus feet?  

WHEN DOING BECOMES DIFFICULT

But the main point of this particular post is to explore the dynamics of BEING and DOING as we grow older or are seriously limited in one way or another — and are simply no longer able to DO all that we could previously do.  At this point in life can we see the value of focusing primarily on BEING and what does that look like?

Frankly, for Marilyn and me, this is a journey of learning, adapting, and growing.  I’ve previously shared from an intimate journal recording how I’m feeling on this medical journey.  I candidly share here what I wrote on Thursday, June 20, 2020, during the early stages of coming to grips with the fact that life for me with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis would be different as my DOING becomes more difficult.

“Quiet-time this morning focused on “BEING”.  I see this as a critical quality in my present journey.  I might DO less, but I can still BE much — God helping me.  A thought that’s been occurring recently is the sense that the world is passing me by.  I feel like I’m at a standstill and everything and everyone around me is racing by me.  Not sure what to make of this, but I need to come to grips with it.  Maybe much of what I’m seeing is the DOING of others.  My personal challenge is to BE the person God wants me to be and from that perspective to influence others around me — that looks different … and is different!”

For most of us, during our productive, working years, we primarily influence others through the authority of the role in which we function — whether as the company CEO or mid-level manager or line worker or parent.  But in time we find ourselves no longer in that key role with its associated authority.  Instead we then live and influence others out of our personal life experiences and character.  In fact, many times our greatest influence and ministry comes from our deepest pain. 

WHAT LIVING OUT OF BEING CAN LOOK LIKE

But what does a focus on BEING look like for the senior who might be limited in DOING?  By the way, when I refer to “senior” here, I’m referring to someone who has reached the point in life where he or she is no longer able to actively function as in previous years and is ready to focus more on BEING than DOING.

I don’t feel like I’m senior enough to adequately answer this question — but I’m getting there (as I write two days after one of my senior birthdays).  Here are five qualities I believe make the senior who is living out of his BEING an attractive and influential person.

First, the senior’s walk with God. His or her walk with God will shape his or her responses to life’s situations and whether or not the journey becomes one of joy (regardless of the circumstances) or one of crippling negativism.  Few people enjoy associating with the negative, grumpy senior.  As the psalmist writes — “Gray hair is a crown of glory, it is obtained by following a righteous path.”  (Proverbs 16:31, NLT)  The intimate walk with the Lord is attractive and enables us to naturally share with other  friends in a meaningful way.

Second, the senior’s wisdom.  The senior has been through a myriad of knocks and bruises and has acquired a vast practical wisdom about life.  The senior focusing on BEING seeks to humbly share that wisdom in ways that are naturally positive to those around him or her. Scripture repeatedly talks about the wisdom that comes with age.  “Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days.” (Job 12:12, ESV).  Our culture today seems to be in desperate need of this godly wisdom!

Third, the senior’s experience.  The senior has a wealth of experience to share.  I recall the story of the retired executive of a manufacturing company (I believe it was) who was urgently called back to restore a malfunctioning feeder pipeline in the plant.  The retired executive responded, tapped briefly on the pipe to fix the problem and submitted his invoice for $10,000.  Aghast, the current company president inquired about the large payment for 30 seconds worth of work needed to fix his problem, to which the retired executive responded — “Oh no, the tap only cost $1, but knowing where to tap cost $9,999.  As seniors we have many life experiences that are full of “lessons learned” that can be invaluable to a younger mentoree.  As Proverbs recounts — “The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old.”  (Proverbs 20:29)

Fourth, the senior’s attitude.  A challenge for us seniors is to constantly recognize and embrace the importance of our position as valuable members of our society even though at times the prevailing culture might not see it this way.  God clearly affirms this role.

We need to recognize that God is not finished with us yet. Life is not over yet and we do not stop dreaming.  C.S. Lewis writes, “You are never too old to set a new goal or dream a new dream.”  We need to endeavor to make every moment count — both in the present and and in the future.

The upbeat, positive attitude is contagious.  Psalm 92:12-25 paints the picture of the senior with an attractive attitude — “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God.  They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, ‘The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.’”

Fifth, the senior’s character. Finally and possibly most important, this quality might be the one that truly makes the senior a life-giving kind of person.  It’s about the character of the man or the woman!  The “Fruit of the Spirit” lived out in the senior’s life is hard to resist — “love, joy, peace, patience (long-suffering), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Gal 5:22-23)  I would also add loyalty, reliability, integrity ,and maturity to this list of character qualities.

Whether or not as seniors we truly influence the younger generation will be determined by the strength of our character.  This is the kind of person people follow!

HOW BEING HELPS ME THRIVE

Yes, there are some disappointments inherent in not being able to DO all I could DO in previous years — especially as I sit and watch others DO tasks that at one time were mine to DO.  Yet the challenge to BE is ever more powerful and potentially more rewarding.

I believe every person seeking to live as a follower of Jesus experiences a deep desire  within himself or herself to BE all that God wants him or her to BE — at least I sense that within myself.  Without doubt, I remain committed to DO for God as He asks of me, but my primary emphasis these days is to BE.  And as I remain committed to BEING what God desires of me I sense His smile on my life and I continue to thrive!

I pray that when I stand before God some day I will hear him say “‘Well done, good and faithful servant!”  And when He does, I suspect he will primarily be addressing my BEING, not all the good things I’ve done on His behalf or even the quality of my family.