Weary

             Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)

             Weary: feeling or showing tiredness, especially as a result of excessive exertion or lack of sleep.

 

            “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.” This quote has been attributed to Albert Einstein, but according to the research I’ve done, it was actually penned by Rita Mae Brown for a book published in 1983 called Sudden Death. The problem is, it’s not true. At least, it’s true a lot fewer times than it’s false. If it were insane to do things repeatedly and expect different results, we’d never learn to walk, or talk, or do most of the things we do.  The whole point of practicing anything is that by practicing, we eventually get different results. At the same time, it can certainly feel as if we’re going crazy when we keep doing the same thing, and the results don’t change.

            Today’s passage is one of many that talk about keeping on keeping on, being persistent, having patience, or not giving up. The problem is that we don’t really like to do those things. When the going gets tough, we want to hand the job off to someone else or forget about it. This is why I set a rule when I started writing again. I am not allowed to stop writing until or unless someone that I respect, who knows something about writing, reads my stuff and tells me to give it up. If you have already taken the decision of out your hands, it helps.

            But, I’m weary. It’s not that I’m weary of doing good. I’m just weary. I’m trying to do good, and I’m trying to do it as efficiently as I can, but I was so excited about having two days off to get things done – I was going to take care of stuff that’s been waiting – and I just didn’t manage half of what I wanted to, and none of the waiting tasks were accomplished. So, I find myself considering this passage. Is there a difference between being weary and being “weary in doing good”? I want to think that there is, and Paul’s reason that we shouldn’t grow weary: for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up suggests to me that the weariness that he’s talking about isn’t a case of having worked all day and being tired. It sounds more like the sort of day I’ve had for the past couple, in which I just didn’t make the progress I wanted to. I get the idea of the Yuck Factor being involved – we’re not to give up when we’re trying to do something good and it’s just not coming together the way we want.

            To which I can only say, “OK, Father. I’ll keep going.”