One of my favorite commercials for Cruzan rum contains a wise parrot who says that only bad news travels quickly, and features two obviously compatible people with a shared love for kittens and genuinely sweet personalities taking advantage of the opportunity to get to know each other better instead of speed dating. This same rum company has other commercials where speed chess players slow down and realize that they are brothers, showing that the relationship is more important than the speed of going through life. As this appears to be a consistent theme of their commercials, about the desirability of forming relationships over time, this is a message that can be appreciated and enjoyed even if I am not the sort of person who would buy or drink rum. As a point of fact, my maternal grandfather would have probably have enjoyed trying out their rum for one of his rum and cokes, to go along with some home-cooked steaks and lengthy conversations, rather in the mood of the commercials. Thankfully, some of us do not need drinks to linger long in conversation [1].

I do not suppose that others would easily say of me that I was a very still person. I have often been told by the people who have been unfortunate enough to sit behind me at church services that I can be a distracting person because I respond so readily to messages with body language even when I can with some difficulty keep myself from responding audibly to rhetorical questions and other invitations for commentary. Generally reading is about the most still activity I engage in, as it is something that tends to occupy my mind to such an extent that I do not generally move that much. Unfortunately, when I am reading is one of those times where people often feel it necessary to engage me in conversation, because I do not look active enough reading. I suppose the same sort of activity, minus the positive side effects, can happen when someone is plugged into a video game or similar entertainment. Even when I sleep, I do not tend to be very still, being a lucid dreamer.

In light of the fact that I’m not a particularly still person, it is somewhat striking that one of the songs on my heavy rotation as a tenor soloist is a song based on Psalm 46 called “Be Still And Know” [2], by Steven Curtis Chapman. The song itself makes one very long and extended point, taken from scripture, that we are called (at least at times) to stand still and see the works of God. Yet it is a difficult thing to be still, as it requires a great deal of inner peace and faith and trust, all interrelated problems in our lives. It seems that we can stand to do anything at all except to do nothing, which often leads us to act in ways that are counterproductive when sometimes restraint would be a far better choice. Of course, I am speaking to the choir here, because this is something I have to wrestle with as well and not only something I see in the behavior of others. How to be still without being lazy or lukewarm is a challenge, but one worthy of our efforts.

Yesterday on the ratio I heard the title track for an album from a Northwest band I happen to like called The Head And The Heart. The song is called “Let’s Be Still,” and the song itself is as sweet and lovely as one would expect. The two lead singers (a male and a female, possibly a couple) are recognizing that if they hurry through life that things will not last (including their relationship) and so they look for a moment to be still. Interestingly enough, I suppose that is precisely why God commands the Sabbath as He does. Rather than seeking boredom or a loss of efficiency, God seeks to preserve our well-being by giving us, and our land, time to rest and relax and reflect, and to serve Him rather than serve ourselves or slave away in labor. Sometimes we forget that being still, at least for a moment, can be very important to our well-being. Let us take advantage of such a rest when we have the chance.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2013/08/12/i-am-loath-to-close/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2014/06/14/a-walk-in-the-park/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2013/09/02/dont-leave-until-they-throw-you-out/

[2] https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2012/05/09/psalm-46-god-is-our-refuge-and-our-strength/