We live in a fast-paced world. The rat race is alive and well, and the rats are winning. And I’ve lived long enough now to know that things have gotten and appear to only be getting worse.
Through technology, we are always available. I know people who get emails or texts from their bosses at all hours of the day and night. And it is always assumed that they will be immediately available to respond.
The same thing is true of a whole lot of our friends and acquaintances. I was at our church’s children’s ministry last night. We were helping a group of four and five-year-olds paint birdhouses. The smocks were on, tables covered in plastic, and it was our job as workers to keep the kids from painting themselves instead of the birdhouses. Not an easy job. And one that demands complete attention. But I noticed one of the kiddos was unsupervised. It turns out one of the youth, who was helping, was texting on her cell phone. I got on to her gently. She’s a good girl and helps out a lot, but she was about to send one of our children home with more paint on himself than the birdhouse.
“You don’t understand,” she told me. “My friend expects me to answer right now!”
This is why “Slowpoke,” written by Neil Young for the album Looking Forward, released by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young in 1999, is one of my favorite songs.
“When I was faster, I was always behind,” sings Young. “I’ve got some medals hanging on my chest. I’ve got some good ones, but I missed the rest.”
If that’s not a successful individual reassessing his priorities and focus, I don’t know what is. Those “medals” came at a high price, the price of missing out on enriching life experiences as he chases after so-called success.
And so, the song continues -
“Slowpoke I’m gonna to run with you, wear all your clothes and do what you do. Slowpoke we’ve got some things to find, when I was faster I was always behind, when I was faster I was always behind.”
Sounds like someone who has decided that the rat race leading to success is not worth running. Which, I believe, is the reason for the words that follow -
“The stage is empty and the crowd is thin. The song is gentle but the song is now. Something’s missing but something is found.”
The praise and accolades, the crowds, and adulation aren’t what they once were, but the song is now. And what was missing is found. In other words, what is being written and played may not be as appealing to the masses as in the past, but it is, more than ever before, a song from the depths of his heart and being, written for no other reason than to express what is inside the man.
You can listen to “Slowpoke” here. Why don’t you take time to do that now and listen as God speaks to you about the best way to win the rat race so prevalent in your life. Hint - maybe you don’t need to be in the race.
Here’s to slowing down and smelling the roses. Or, at least, keeping kids from covering themselves in paint!
Matthew 11:28-30.
In Christ,
Dan
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