Archdeacon Rachel Mann shared this Pause for Thought on Scott Mills' BBC Radio 2 Show this morning:
Of all your show’s special features, Scott, I am obsessed with the Easiest Quiz on the Radio. There is something compelling about its combination of oh-so-easy questions and the intense time pressure. It really gets my blood pumping. I am in awe of anyone who puts their hat into the ring for it, even when they fluff the first question.
I’m part of a very competitive family. We can make a competition of anything. We watch game shows and press imaginary buzzers to be first to answer. We’ve been known to race each other to the tram stop. I used to take the mick out of my younger brother for fluffing the big cash question when he was on the Weakest Link. That is until I went on Christmas University Challenge and realised the pressure the studio lights bring.
Truth is, I like to live what I call a ‘red buzzer’ life. I often live as if life were a quiz in which I compete with others. And Lord do I want to win. I’m ever ready to press life’s ’red buzzer’, to get to the answer quickest and win some imaginary applause.
I like a bit of pressure too. Wanting to win is not, in and of itself, bad. But when I have too much of this ‘red buzzer’ life I find I lose myself in the rush to be first. I know, then, I need to find the space to slow down, look around and see what is really going on.
That is one of the things I find helpful about how Jesus approaches life. He doesn’t seem to care about being first. He goes slow enough for him to hear the concerns and needs of those around him and respond with love. Indeed, he has been called the ‘three mile per hour God’. I think it is because he sees no need to compete.
So instead of treating life as one big quiz where I rush to get to the answers first, I think it is okay to breathe, pray, and enjoy. When I do that I find I look out for others not just myself. Though, at the same time, if I ever get to play the Easiest Quiz on the Radio, I’m all in for the Golden Toaster.