As we all get busy gearing up for the new year, here are some Christmas words that are worth remembering all year long, especially for leaders. They are from a Christmas sermon given in 1904 by Charles Henry Brent at St. Stephen’s Church, Boston:
“The shepherds did not hesitate to leave their sheep. Too exclusive attention to our task keeps God from having a share in it. We need the relief that comes from godly carelessness (emph. mine); or, to put it in less paradoxical language, we are suffering from the strain of constant calculation and anxiety. Those who learn to take rest in God, after a while become able to do their work in God, and spend their odd moments painting pictures of heaven on the walls of their workshop.” (Love Came Down, p. 77.)
My hope for you in 2010 is that you can find some moments of “godly carelessness.”
Rebecca Maccini
What a great phrase. A sermon from the early 20th century that speaks to the early 21st century.