The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to stay emotionally healthy and spiritually alive in the chaos of the modern world

“Love, joy, and peace are the triumvirate at the heart of Jesus’s kingdom vision. All three are more than just emotions; they are overall conditions of the heart. They aren’t just pleasant feelings; they are the kinds of people we become through our apprenticeship to Jesus, who embodies all three ad infinitum. And all three are incompatible with hurry.”

According to Comer, the goal of following Jesus as his apprentice is not merely to believe certain things or even to feel certain feelings, like love, joy, or peace. Rather, the goal is to become a certain kind of person, whose character—like Jesus’s—radiates love, joy, and peace as their fundamental virtues. Apprenticeship to Jesus, then, leads ultimately to transformation.

“Technological, and even economic, progress does not necessarily equal human progress. Just because it’s newer and/or faster doesn’t mean it’s better. […] What looks like progression is often regression with an agenda.”

One of the many cultural assumptions that lies behind the disease of hurry is that progress is always good, regardless of what kind of progress it is. Comer takes issue with this idea, noting that technological advancements are not necessarily good for every part of human life: Some, like smartphones and the Internet, have advanced certain capabilities while also throwing massive temptations and obstacles in the way of healthy human living. Comer asks his audience to consider the forces that profit from ostensible “progress” and to consider whether those forces really have the good of the human person in view.

“Hurry kills relationships. Love takes time; hurry doesn’t have it. It kills joy, gratitude, appreciation; people in a rush don’t have time to enter the goodness of the moment. […] Hurry kills all that we hold dear: spirituality, health, marriage, family, thoughtful work, creativity, generosity…name your value. Hurry is a sociopathic predator loose in our society.”

In this passage, Comer offers examples of aspects of life that may become compromised under the pressures of hurry: personal relationships, positive emotions, creativity, the spiritual life. In claiming that, “Hurry kills all that we hold dear” and characterizing it as “a sociopathic predator,” Comer emphasizes The Dangers of a Hurried Lifestyle.

“All the contemplatives agree. The mystics point out that what’s missing is awareness. Meaning, in the chronic problem of human beings’ felt experience of distance from God, God isn’t usually the culprit. God is omnipresent—there is no place God is not. And no time he isn’t present either. Our awareness of God is the problem, and it’s acute.”

This quote ties in with Comer’s overarching theme of The Importance of Living in the Present Moment, which is the only space in which we can truly become aware of the presence of God. Hurry, by contrast, divides our attention amid many different distractions and pulls us away from the present moment by keeping us oriented toward whatever might come next. Without attention, however, we cannot develop the awareness that Comer believes is necessary for experiencing the presence of God.

“Here’s my point: the solution to an overbusy life is not more time. It’s to slow down and simplify our lives around what really matters.”

Here Comer reacts against the common lamentation heard in modern life about needing “more time.” Comer suggests that the problem is not that we have too few hours in the day, but that we have misused the time we have, overcommitting ourselves to tasks and distractions that do not really reflect our deepest priorities. The solution, then, is not to add more time, but to adjust the way we make use of time.

“All I’m saying is limitations aren’t all bad. They are where we find God’s will for our lives. And the main limitation we all share—regardless of where you started in life or how smart or hard working or type A you are—is time.”

Comer believes that much of our trouble with hurry comes down to the assumption that we have no real limitations—that we are as infinite in our capacities as our desires are infinite in their breadth. This is simply untrue, Comer writes, as even a brief reflection on the finite nature of existence reminds us. If we do have limitations as part of our fundamental nature, then perhaps part of the road to freedom is to understand and embrace that finitude, to accept it as a gift of God, through which God can open up new pathways and callings for us.

“To be one of Jesus’ talmidim is to apprentice under Jesus. Put simply, it’s to organize your life around three basic goals: 1. Be with Jesus. 2. Become like Jesus. 3. Do what he would do if he were you. The whole point of apprenticeship is to model all of your life after Jesus.”

In this quote, Comer articulates his alternative translation of “disciple,” suggesting that to be a follower of Jesus is more like being an apprentice who learns their trade by observing the master at work. This brief extract encapsulates the core of Comer’s thematic emphasis on Apprenticeship to Jesus, highlighting its pattern of learning directly from Jesus and applying the manner of his life to one’s own habits and practices.

“Honestly, the solution is very, very simple. If you want to experience the life ‘to the full’ of Jesus, his nonstop, conscious enjoyment of God’s presence and world, all you have to do is adopt not only his theology and ethics but also his lifestyle. Just follow his way.”

Here we see Comer’s critique of the limited way in which Christian spirituality has sometimes been portrayed in the Western tradition, as being largely a matter of theology and ethics. Comer wants to push his readers to consider another aspect of following Jesus: the practical task of putting his manner of life into action in one’s daily circumstances. This fits with the book’s theme of Apprenticeship to Jesus, learning not only from his teachings but from the very way he lived.

“We could go on, but my point is simple: [Jesus] put on display an unhurried life, where space for God and love for people were the top priorities, and because he said yes to the Father and his kingdom, he constantly said no to countless other invitations. Then he turned around and said, ‘Follow me.’”

This passage continues Comer’s exploration of the idea of apprenticing oneself to Jesus’s pattern of life. Though demands on Jesus’s time and presence were coming from all sides in the gospel accounts, he never seemed flustered or in a rush, instead carving out intentional time to spend with God and others. This, Comer argues, is the fundamental pattern of Jesus’s way: intentionally using practices that allowed him to commit to The Importance of Living in the Present Moment, thus being fully present to those around him.

“Most of us have more than enough time to work with, even in busy seasons of life. We just have to reallocate our time to ‘seek first the kingdom of God,’ not the kingdom of entertainment.”

Here Comer anticipates a possible objection among his readers, namely, that they simply don’t have enough time to add spiritual disciplines like the practice of silence and solitude or the observation of the Sabbath. Comer invites them to consider their own schedules with a critical eye. What he suspects is that most people will find that they have enough time, they just allocate too much of it to distractions like social media and TV.

“And unlike other types of habits, the practices of Jesus aren’t just exercises for your mind and body to grow their willpower muscle and cultivate character. They are far more; they are how we open our minds and bodies to a power far beyond our own and effect change.”

This quote helps to introduce the idea of “spiritual disciplines,” which Comer calls “practices of Jesus,” to the book’s readers (See: Index of Terms). The temptation would be to view them as yet another set of tasks to add to our lists and maintain by our own willpower, but Comer claims that they are actually acts by which we invite the power of God to do its transformational work in our lives. This is one of the rare instances in the book where Comer adds an expressly theological angle to his teaching, emphasizing the effects of God’s action in our lives rather than simply the practical aspects of following Jesus in our daily lives.

“This new normal of hurried digital distraction is robbing us of the ability to be present.”

Here we see another of the book’s main themes, that of The Importance of Living in the Present Moment. Part of the problem of hurry in our society is not the number of tasks we must do, but also the number of diversions available to us, which push us out of the present moment by drawing our attention elsewhere. As Comer notes elsewhere, a deficit of attention leads naturally to a loss of awareness, which means that we lose many of the blessings available to us in the present—a sense of connection to the presence of God and of those around us.

“In Luke’s gospel in particular, you can chart Jesus’ life along two axis points: the busier and more in demand and famous Jesus became, and the more he withdrew to his quiet place to pray […] In seasons of busyness we need more time in the quiet place, not less, definitely not less.”

Comer again anticipates some of the objections of his readership—that in particularly busy seasons, we will necessarily have less time to devote to things like prayer and rest. He argues that this perception is flawed, however, and that Jesus’s life in the gospels demonstrates a different pattern at work. When Jesus was at his busiest, he made even more time for prayer and rest. The issue, then, is not the amount of time available to us, but how we prioritize the use of our time.

“The Jesus tradition would offer this: human desire is infinite because we were made to live with God forever in his world and nothing less will ever satisfy us, so our only hope is to put desire back in its proper place on God.”

This quote illuminates some of the philosophical base of Comer’s arguments. One of the driving forces behind the disease of hurry is the infinite nature of human desire, always seeking more without coming to rest in ultimate contentment and satisfaction. The reason human desire is infinite, Comer says, is because it was designed to be focused on the infinite scope of the divine nature and on living in eternal relationship with God. As such, our desires can only be brought to a restful contentment by refocusing them on a spiritual end.

“If you’re new to the Sabbath, a question to give shape to your practice is this: What could I do for twenty-four hours that would fill my soul with a deep, throbbing joy? That would make me spontaneously combust with wonder, awe, gratitude, and praise?”

This passage is part of Comer’s presentation on the practice of Sabbath observance. Here, Comer wants to present Sabbath observance not as just another rule to be followed, but as an open invitation to the pursuit of joyful rest, reflecting The Importance of Living in the Present Moment.

“Sabbath, as the Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann so famously said, is ‘an act of resistance.’ It is an act of rebellion against Pharaoh and his empire. An insurgency and insurrection against the ‘isms’ of the Western world—globalism, capitalism, materialism, all of which sound nice but quickly make slaves of the rich and the poor. Sabbath is a way to stay free.”

Here we can observe Comer’s frequent use of quotations and concepts from other writers and thinkers, which is a major feature of his book’s style. Comer interprets Sabbath observance not only as an act of obedience to a biblical command, but as taking a stand against the false power dynamics of the world, which use the disease of hurry to exploit the marginalized and keep the elites in line. Sabbath constitutes a decision not to live by those principles, but to choose a different set of values entirely.

“In reality, Jesus’ moral teachings aren’t arbitrary at all. They are laws, yes. But moral laws are no different from scientific laws like E=mc² or gravity. They are statements about how the world actually works. And if you ignore them, not only do you rupture relationship with God, but you also go against the grain of the universe he created. Cue the splinters.”

In this quote, we see again that behind Comer’s use of Jesus’s life as a practical paradigm lies a Christian theology. Comer believes that Jesus’s teachings are true not only because he was wise, but because his teachings illustrate the way “the world actually works.” Comer’s assertion that “moral laws are no different from scientific laws” posits that Christian ethics are universally applicable, with Comer choosing not to address issues of cultural and ethical differences elsewhere in the world.

“The goal isn’t just to declutter your closet or garage but to declutter your life. To clear away the myriad of distractions that ratchet up our anxiety, feed us an endless stream of mind-numbing drivel, and anesthetize us to what really matters.”

In Comer’s view, the goal of Apprenticeship to Jesus is not simply to reorder the details of one’s life, but to be transformed from the inside out. Part of that process is learning to say no to many of the tasks and distractions that occupy our attention in modern life, which Comer sees as having deleterious effects overall.

“To follow Jesus, especially in the Western world, is to live in that same tension between grateful, happy enjoyment of nice, beautiful things, and simplicity. And when in doubt, to err on the side of generous, simple living.”

In this quote, Comer acknowledges the need for discretion when applying the principle of simplicity. Rather than a strict call to voluntary poverty in all circumstances, it is a call to use one’s money and possessions to magnify the values of the kingdom of God. This may at times require a partial renunciation of wealth, but its primary expression is more often realized in gratitude and generosity.

“Again, the truism: we achieve inner peace when our schedules are aligned with our values […] if our values are life with Jesus and a growing maturity toward love, joy, and peace, then our schedules and the set of practices that make up our days and weeks […] are the ways we achieve inner peace.”

Here Comer emphasizes that Apprenticeship to Jesus requires applying the values of Jesus’s life onto the circumstances of our daily schedules. In an ideal sense, one’s schedule ought not to represent a barrier to the experience of rest and fulfillment. Quite the opposite: Comer presents a schedule framed around the values and priorities of the kingdom of God, believing that the schedule will itself become the means by which our inner transformation is accomplished.

“I want to be fully present to the moment: to God, other people, work in the world, and my own soul. That’s more than enough to consume my attention.”

This quote underscores the book’s theme on The Importance of Living in the Present Moment. To be present in the moment means that we will also be present to those around us and to those tasks that require close concentration and deep attention. Although in some instances Comer addresses his audience directly, he also frequently applies his message to himself, as in this passage, which adds a personal element to the book.

“I’ve reorganized my life around three very simple goals: 1. Slow down. 2. Simplify my life around the practices of Jesus. 3. Live from a center of abiding. Abiding is the metaphor I keep coming back to. I want so badly to live from a deep place of love, joy, and peace.”

Here Comer again applies his messages to himself. Rather than simply directing his message at readers, he places himself in a position of similar need and shares how he has applied his ideas to his own life. This passage offers a snapshot synopsis of much of the ethos of the entire book.

“These four practices—silence and solitude, Sabbath, simplicity, and slowing—have helped me tremendously to move toward abiding as my baseline. But to say it yet again, all four of them are a means to an end. The end isn’t silence and solitude; it’s to come back to God and our true selves.”

Comer’s literary style is again shaped by his rhetorical style as a preacher. In this passage from the Epilogue, he comes back to repeat some of the main points he has already made, much as a pastor would do in the conclusion of a sermon. The main point he wants to underscore here is that the pursuit of the practices of Jesus is not intended to add extra tasks to one’s life, but to provide openings for transformation.