Busyness; It has become almost a badge of honor in Christian circles today, everyone says they are, and we use it as the excuses to get out of almost anything. This wonderful little word has become a critical part of our vocabulary, on a far too often basis. It seems like everyone is saying they are busy, even the high school drop out who works 14 hours a week at the mall (this is a real story!).
At the root of all this busyness is something more then simply cultural lingo, there is a heart issue. In Tim Chester’s book, A Meal with Jesus
Above all examine your heart. God did not make a mistake when he spun the world into being, making twenty-four-hour days instead of twenty-five-hour ones. He expects you to serve him and glorify him in those twenty-four hours. But he doesn’t expect you to do twenty-five hours’ work in a day. The person responsible for your busyness is you. We’re too busy because we’re trying to do more than God expects.
- You may be too busy because you’re insecure and need to control life. But God is great and cares for you as a sovereign heavenly Father.
- You may be too busy because you fear other people, and so you can’t say no. Bot God is glorious, and his opinion is the one that matters.
- You may be too busy because you’re filling your life with activity in a desperate attempt to find satisfaction. But God is good, and the true source of joy.
- You may be too busy because you’re trying to prove yourself through your work or ministry. But God is gracious and justifies you freely through Christ’s finished work.
You’ll never create time for people until you address the issues in your heart and find rest in God’s greatness, glory, goodness and grace.
When we dig deep, we quickly understand we are busy, because there is a lack of trust in God. So think through the four above points that Chester makes and see where your heart is. If not you may just end up spending your whole life busy, but doing nothing much for the Kingdom of Jesus!
Hey Josh,
Great stuff! I’m looking forward to you speaking to our men soon.
Blessings,
LL
Then, why does the church seem to promote busyness? Program after program; series after series; meeting after meeting. Its been my experience that the church is as responsible for keeping believers busy as any individual. Yes, ultimately, the individual needs to parse out their time responsibly so that each component of their life is in balance but many times, church leaders/goers look down/scoff at those who can’t do more than they are. I’m not singling out any church. I’ve watched it happen time and again at a few different religious institutions …. and each time, it was extremely disturbing to watch because it more often than not ended in someone being damaged because some pastor or leader of the church marginalized a congregant in an effort to promote/build-up “their” program. Yet, also more often than not, those same leaders aren’t held to the same responsibility as the person they marginalized. I’ve watched church leaders squelch the Holy Spirit because that’s what they wanted; they wanted the program to go as they envisioned, not as the Holy Spirit chose to guide. Subsequently, the program became a popularity contest and stroking of ego for the leader. Unfortunately, that seems to be a VERY prevalent position taken by church leaders. When the congregants are essentially made to jump through all those hoops the leader(s) put before them, just so the leader(s)can have the ego stroked … no wonder there’s a problem w/us being busy and “doing nothing much for the Kingdom of Jesus.”
Tony, you are right in saying that many churches are a large part of the problem for much busyness. Even though this is true it does not count out the church as God’s intended means by which He is bringing about reconciliation in the world. Yeah, there are men and woman all over the world who have become consumed with doing church, not being the church. My question always comes down to our own actions. If we are to dig deep into our own hearts, we would see that the reason we are doing everything the ministry is asking us to do can be rooted in the same sinful desires. I am simply asking myself the question about my own heart, and my own time. Most of the time forgetting what the ministry is asking me to do. Busyness is all around us, it is what we do with it that will determine which kingdom we serve.