Chapter 1: Hurry: the great enemy of spiritual life

Picture the scene. Jesus comes into a village, and Martha welcomes him into her house. That is a good thing. Her sister Mary "sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching," while "Martha was distracted with much serving." Martha finally goes to Jesus with a complaint: "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?"

Jesus's answer is gentle and exact: "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary." Notice what he does not say. He does not tell her serving is wrong. He names her inner state. She has the guest of honor in her home, and she is too frazzled to be with him.

That is close to the heart of Comer's first chapter. He recalls Ortberg asking Dallas Willard how to stay spiritually healthy, and Willard answering that hurry must be rooted out of one's life. Comer's argument is that hurry is more than a bad schedule. It works against love, joy, and peace, which Paul lists as fruit of the Spirit. His reasoning is simple: love needs presence, and presence needs time. He admits that his own worst moments came when he was rushed. He also draws on Corrie ten Boom to say that overbusyness and sin do the same damage, cutting us off from God and from people. A spiritual director's counsel is that following Jesus means moving at his pace, and that rushing undercuts prayer.

So what makes Martha's distraction so costly? Think about how you treat someone when you are hurried. You half-listen. You finish their sentences. You check the clock. Nobody feels loved by that, even if you are doing a lot for them. Love can be shown through serving, but serving cannot replace being there. Mary chose "the good portion," and Jesus says it "will not be taken away from her." The to-do list will be gone by next week. Presence stays.

This is where the chapter gets personal. Comer's call is for a spirituality built around slowing down, but slowing down is not free. Being present with one person this week means something else gets left undone. A dish stays in the sink. A message waits. You might feel behind. That discomfort is the price of love, and it is worth paying on purpose.

One caution. Presence is a gift to give, not a debt to pay someone who has hurt you. If being near a certain person has ever been unsafe, choose someone else for this week, and talk with a pastor or counselor about the harder relationship.