Life is not a race. Really, it isn’t.

As I left our house I said goodbye to my wife and added, “My goal is to never go anywhere in a hurry.” She thought that was a good goal. She did not say, “Who are you and what have you done with my husband?” I would have understood if she did, because I have lived a fair amount of my life in a big hurry.

I had someplace to be and a time to be there, but I had a large buffer on the clock. The class I was teaching began at 9 and was a five minute walk from the parking garage, which was 23 miles from home. Apple maps said I would arrive at 7:40. No hurry.

Once I would have slept as late as possible. On that day I got up 25 minutes before the alarm rang. Once I would have dallied at home. Now I was ready early, so I relaxed for a few minutes then hit the road. Once I would have felt the stress when I joined a traffic jam on the highway. Instead I listened to Van Morrison sing and took my time. The extra 10 minutes of travel due to the traffic made no difference, although once it would have (possibly) made me late.

I noticed several people on the highway — even on surface streets — who had apparently not adopted the “never be in a hurry” plan. It seemed like they thought all of those cars on the road were part of a gigantic impromptu race to arrive somewhere as rapidly as possible.

As we made our ways to various and sundry destinations, a funny line came back to mind. It was a favorite of my dad’s: the hurrieder I go, the behinder I get. I wondered if the race car drivers on Highway 101 knew it.

Is the title true?

It may be that you’d like to lodge a protest about the title of this article. If so, maybe you remember that Paul, an apostle of Jesus, compared life to a race. Here is what he wrote: Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain. He did compare a spiritual life to a race, or at least to a competition.

But if you think his analogy is to be taken literally, note that in the race there is only one winner. In following Jesus, everyone who stays the course wins. He’s encouraging Jesus followers to be disciplined, strong, and faithful. If only one person won, would it be one of us? Are we more faithful than Paul, or Mother Teresa?

Later Paul wrote to his “son in the faith” Timothy. Paul was about to die and knew it, and so he wrote “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” and that he had won. You can say that, too, and so can I. Life is not a race in the sense of a marathon where only one person wins.

Or maybe you think the world treats life and work and everything else like a competition. It does feel that way, and I have participated with vigor. But that doesn’t mean life is a race in the competitive sense. It is like a race because you have started, and one day you will cross the finish line. I hope you are ready for what’s next when you do.

He Who Dies With The Most Toys Still Dies

Whether you walk, run, ride, drive, or fly — even if Scottie beams you up — you are going from one place to another. The physical place you are going is your destination. We all have scores of those every day, generally culminating with something like, “I’m going to bed.”

In many cases there is a second destination that is not a physical place. You might go to bed so you can “go to” sleep. Perhaps you go to a restaurant because you are “going to” eat. In other words, there are reasons why we go where we go. One such place is “work,” and we go there to fulfill a task (our job).

When you go to work, do you go there to get paid, or do you go there so you can engage in some activity you love? Ideally, it is both.

A problem may arise, however, when the primary destination is neither work nor the paycheck, it is what you will buy with the pay you receive. That can be a good thing, but far too often it is not.

The “things of this world” can easily allure us. Having them is not wrong, sinful, bad or evil. Making them the ultimate destination, however, is often problematic. Now you find yourself in a hurry to get them, and the next thing you know you are “driving” your life too fast, disobeying traffic laws (e.g. cheating on your taxes), running into other people (e.g. that promotion is mine, not yours!) and finally “arriving” but with a path of chaos and destruction behind you.

Enjoy what you are blessed with in life. As I wrote last week, be grateful for everything you have, whether it is little or much. Please do not race after it — instead, enjoy the journey.

Reminding myself

One more driving a car analogy. Growing up in a rural area and driving on many country roads at night, I was taught “don’t get out in front of your headlights.” In other words, be able to stop within the distance your headlights shine. Otherwise you might hit a deer or a cow or a tree limb.

Now, even in business, I don’t want to get out ahead of God. Some days I wish he’d move faster, though he’s probably waiting on me. Whether the pace is fast or slow, I’m not going to be in a hurry. Join me on the amazing journey of life without hurry. It is a great way to do good for yourself — and for your fellow travelers.

Do good without hurry. It’s in you.