Preoccupied. Philippians 2:21. “For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.” “I really want to, but I don’t have time.” “Let me check my schedule and get back to you.” These and many similar common phrases are often the responses we hear when there's work for God to be done. “We’ve made plans to go somewhere that day.” “The sun is shining, and we have to make hay.” Beneath the busy schedules that are common to everyone lies a real misunderstanding of the eternal consequences of spiritual darkness and light.
“I’ll see if I can spare a day when we return from vacation.” “I would help if I could, but we’ve got another invitation.” Life for many people passes quickly with a lot of good intentions and even a desire to be involved in the kingdom of God's work, but to commit oneself to God’s service is well down on the list of priorities. “One of the children has a game, and I’ve got to go there.” “I promised the family we would all go to the fair.” Other legitimate things claim our time and press that we would much rather do. The things of the kingdom of God we can easily put off because we think others will fill the gap we have left and what I was supposed to do will be done by somebody else.
“When I retire, I will have a lot of time then.” By that time, life is nearly over before one is willing to begin a service for God that demands the first place in mind, heart, and life. By then we’re too old to start a new phase in life that is active. We are tired of living and want to relax, travel for a while, and then sit back and read – “Oh, I can pray for the work when I am sitting in this chair!”