Slow and Surrendered

The biblical wisdom of a non-Christian

"Come on, Christmas. Hurry up."

I heard this a lot when I was a kid.

Walking somewhere behind a grownup who was in charge of me and in more of a hurry than I was.

Later, in an Air Force cargo warehouse, I learned to walk around fast with a clipboard to look busy, even if I wasn't actually going anywhere particular.

Later still, I learned to go places as fast as possible. The world had finally taught me what it wanted me to learn. Hurry up, be impatient, get there and don't stop until you do.

Now that I'm getting old(er), I enjoy the excuse to slow down again (because, hey, old people are slow! Right?)

And when you think about it, why not?

What's the point of hurrying when God's in charge anyway?

And furthermore, hurrying is how I miss what God is actually doing.

Every Christian, at this point, will say, "I know, I know. I should slow down."

And they won't.

Mostly, we just don't believe it's okay. We don't believe we could run our life on slow.

But I could never be so productive, if I didn't go really slow through life.

I have friends who think I do a lot. The only time it feels like I do a lot is when I fail to slow down, surrender to God, and respond to Him.

When I do that, I accomplish far more than my hurried self ever could. Not because I'm working faster, but because I'm connected to the Source of my calling. The tasks that matter rise to the surface. The distractions fall away.

By refusing to rush, I've found a productivity that doesn't deplete but replenishes. The challenge isn't learning how to slow down. It's trusting that when we do, we're not falling behind—we're finally moving in rhythm with the one who created time in the first place.

The Biblical Wisdom of Naval Ravikant

One of my favorite non-believing thinkers is Naval Ravikant. Though he's not a Christian, he seems to have lived into some biblical wisdom. In his pursuit of meaning, he's stumbled upon truths that Scripture has been teaching for millennia that pertains to our topic this week.

"Impatience with actions, patience with results," Naval advises. This echoes James 5:7-8. "See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth." God's timeline often works at a different pace than our anxious rushing. ”Impatience with actions” simply means, once you know what to do, do it, but don’t get hurried, and don’t think you can rush results that only work in God’s timing.

Naval also reminds us to "Slow down, life is long." Ecclesiastes already told us "the race is not to the swift." Hurrying doesn't guarantee success.

When our hurry exists, because we are trying to frenetically earn the money to afford an ever expanding lifestyle, Naval reminds us that, "People who live far below their means enjoy a freedom that people busy upgrading their lifestyles can't fathom"

Jesus said the same: "One's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions."

What Naval found through reflection, Scripture has taught for thousands of years. Believers receive these truths as revelation. When I slow down I'm aligning with God’s rhythm that governs all creation.

How Does Surrender Fit in Naval's "Biblical Non-Christian" Philosophy?

Naval Ravikant’s secular philosophy ultimately arrives at surrender—a core biblical concept—though through a completely different path.

Naval speaks of acceptance as the ultimate mental freedom: "The phrase that I probably use the most to myself in my head is just one word: accept." This mirrors Philippians 4:11, where Paul writes about being content in all circumstances.

Naval frames surrender practically, saying, "Just focus on the one or two really really important things, and everything else, just surrender to it. Just take it as it comes." He sees surrender not as weakness but as strategic wisdom. Only by letting go of control in most areas can we truly focus on what matters.

For Naval, surrender creates space for presence. "The fewer desires I can have, the more I can accept the current state of things, the less my mind is moving," he observes. This echoes Psalm 46:10: "Be still, and know that I am God."

Where Naval approaches surrender as a philosophical choice for mental freedom, Christianity frames it as relationship. We surrender not just for our benefit, but because we trust the One to whom we surrender.

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:4-5 ESV)

Naval discovered that attachment to outcomes creates suffering: "Desire is a contract that you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want." Jesus taught this too when he warned about anxiety in Matthew 6: "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?"

The difference? Naval's surrender is horizontal—acceptance of what is. Christian surrender is both horizontal and vertical—accepting reality while trusting God with outcomes.

All truth is God’s truth, so maybe it’s not that remarkable that these different paths converge on the same paradoxical truth: only by surrendering control do we find the freedom we seek.

The world won't tell you to slow down. It won't encourage surrender. But the Kingdom of God has always been upside-down to the world's way of thinking. But even in the world, the truth is the truth is the truth.

Doing more starts with doing less. Sometimes to move forward, be still. Sometimes surrender is the greatest victory.

— Jeff

P.S. Are you a writer? I have something for you in June if you’ve always wanted to write a book. It’s free, but will cost you an hour and half for 5 days. I’ll tell you more in a couple of weeks!

Works Cited

Jorgenson, Eric. "The Almanack of Naval Ravikant." Naval, 15 Sept. 2020, https://www.navalmanack.com/

Ravikant, Naval. "Impatience with actions, patience with results." Twitter, 18 June 2018, https://twitter.com/naval/status/1008533213919133697

Ravikant, Naval. "People who live far below their means enjoy a freedom that people busy upgrading their lifestyles can't fathom." Twitter https://twitter.com/naval/status/846774878195757057

Sloww. "Naval Ravikant: 15 Timeless Thoughts & 50 Naval Quotes." Sloww, 8 Mar. 2022, https://www.sloww.co/naval-ravikant/