THE FEVER OF "DOING." by The Christian

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jul 30, 1894

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 20, No. 38.

THE FEVER OF "DOING."

By The Christian

ONE symptom of this malady may be entitled "too much to do." How many Christians there are who are not Christlike; and were we to search out the cause, we should find that the perfect work of God has been hindered by the fever of "do and go." This has become a sort of perpetuum mobile in the life, that not only raises the physical pulse to irritation point in brain and nerve, but too often destroys the good we are seeking to do. "I can't stop to listen to you now, I am so hurried;" or, "A committee or meeting is waiting for me, and I must go." How often have we not thus hindered some troubled or anxious soul, some tempted and tried one, who came to pour it all out into our heart, who chose us in his hour of need as the one most likely to help him!

The pernicious effect of this fever in the home life is sadly apparent; father or mother, or both, are so much away from their children, so absorbed in the outside life, that their family grow up with a grudge against that which makes their own life so dreary, or they get accustomed to do without the parental friend or counselor appointed of God for their instruction and happiness. By and by, when illness comes into the schoolroom or nursery, or the cold, pale Reaper with the scythe removes some sweet bud, some blooming flower, the mother is pained and wounded to the quick to find that the presence of governess or nurse is more welcome beside the bed of suffering than her own. Those "fever-stricken" parents know less of their own hearth and home, of their children's lives and characters, than of many others. Such people wake up some day in startled surprise to find their children undutiful, ungodly, self-willed, resenting an authority which has not been established by loving intercourse and respect.

It may be that this "doing" fever is raging, not in the parents, but in some bright young girl, whose idea of serving the Lord takes roots anywhere except in the home circle. A tired or delicate mother longs for her companionship of an evening, when, the young members having retired for the night, there is an opportunity for quiet intercourse. But the sewing class or club makes it impossible to remain at home. If by chance she can do so, the sudden rebound from fever point to normal tranquillity produces physical depression and not-to-be-restrained yawns, which prove how necessary this stimulant of "do and go" has become to her existence.

What antidote is there for this disease?—Let us strive to "be" more and "do" less. "Being" implies rest, yet not idleness; life, yet not activity; steady growth rootwards, not profuse ramifications which constantly need the pruning knife. Being and abiding are twin sisters, dearly loved by the Lord. "I am," was God's first declared revelation of himself, not "I do." Let us pray for this blessed spirit of quietness and calm, so that the "doing" fever may be cast out of our life, leaving us time to sit down at His feet whose yoke is easy, whose burden is light, there to find rest for our souls.—The Christian.