How fast do you walk?

Despite being happy to stride out when taking a walk, I find that everybody seems to pass me and then disappear into the distance. Even petite females who might be expected to have short strides and not cover the ground very quickly appear to zoom ahead. Am I a slowcoach – or is the pace of my life simply rather leisurely?

With this puzzle in mind, I was interested to read a recent article in Radio Bible Class’s “Our Daily Bread” notes. “According to a study measuring the pace of life of cities in 32 countries, people in the biggest hurry live here in Singapore,” writes Poh Fang Chia. “We walk 60 feet in 10:55 seconds, compared to 12:00 seconds for New Yorkers and 31:60 seconds for those living in the African city of Blantyre, Malawi.” [If my walking speed is 3 mph, I surely ought to cover 60 feet in a respectable 13.6 seconds.]

“But regardless of where you live, the study shows that walking speeds have increased by an average of 10 percent in the past 20 years. And if walking speed is any indicator for the pace of life, we are certainly much busier than before.”

The article gave me pause for thought. Maybe people with a faster-paced lifestyle get more done. I am certainly amazed at the work rate of some of my friends, including those much older than I. The amount of positive good that people like that can generate is something to be admired. I think to myself that I wouldn’t last five minutes if I had to live at their rate, and therefore will never benefit the human race the way they do.

Sometimes I have indeed been required to speed up. Once when I was between churches I registered with an agency that sent me out to do manual work. Supervisors taught me how to carry out tasks more efficiently in order to cut out unnecessary movements. For a while it seemed to bring benefits at home – I found myself getting through more housework and doing so more quickly. Eventually, though, I lapsed back into my old rather leisurely ways.

When I see people going down with exhaustion I don’t think it’s such a bad idea to be a bit on the slow side. Maybe this is the story of the tortoise and the hare all over again, with a new twist. The hare is so keen that he runs out of steam. The tortoise eventually succeeds in reaching the finishing line on his own.

Some object that it is better to burn out than to rust out. There may well be times when Christians need to live and work flat out regardless of their health. The Protestant Reformation was possibly one of those times. A rare window had opened up for teaching and preaching in line with the new discovery of justification by faith alone. Some very frail saints pushed themselves hard to promote this revolutionary truth while the opportunity existed. But generally speaking Christianity is a life to be lived in the long run. The Lord Jesus declared, “ … the one who endures to the end will be saved” (see Matthew 24:12-13).

Poh Fang Chia challenges us, “Are you caught up in the frenzy of a busy life? Pause and consider Jesus’ words to Martha: ‘You are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her’ (Luke 10:41-42).

“Notice Jesus’ gentle words. He didn’t rebuke Martha for wanting to be a good host but rather reminded her about her priorities. Martha had allowed the importance of her tasks to get out of proportion. And, in the process, she was so busy doing good that she didn’t take time to sit at Jesus’ feet.

“In our drive to be productive for the Lord, let’s remember the one thing worth being concerned about—enjoying time with our Savior.”

And in case we are still tempted to spend less time with the Lord because we are too busy about His work, the thought at the end of the article brings us up short: “Jesus longs for our fellowship even more than we long for His.”