At an Asian Leadership Training event in Cambodia today, one of our Chinese leaders related a Chinese parable appropriate for leaders this morning. I thought it was fitting enough to pass on to my leadership friends around the world. It is as follows . . .
A man was standing by a snail at the side of the road. God said, “I want you to take him for a walk.” So, the man told the snail to come along. The prospects for a walk did not seem good. The snail moved so slowly that the man encouraged and even pleaded with him to walk faster. The snail said, “I’ll try. But, I am going as fast as I can.” The snail’s pace increased so slightly that it was hardly noticeable. So, the man said, “Let me help you.” He pushed the snail. He pulled the snail. He tried everything possible to get the snail to hurry a little faster. After what seemed to be hours of trying, the snail and the man had barely moved. In exasperation, the man said to God, “I can’t seem to get him to move quickly at all.” God replied, “That’s fine! I was talking to the snail anyway, not to you.”
That parable certainly applies to me. Our pace is sometimes what we think to be right. God’s opinion of our hurried lives might be a little different than ours. Speed is not always a virtue. Sit down! Unplug! Turn it off! Shut it down! Pull away! Take a slow walk! Smell the roses! Hear the still small voice! And, learn to enjoy it! That is the key. If we can’t enjoy it, it is not God’s problem. It’s ours.