I hate that the main characteristics of my life is that I am so busy. If you ask an of my friends or acquaintances what they would say about me, I am sure that 9 out of 10 of them would say is that “he is so busy”.
How dreadful is it that when I am talking to someone and they ask “How’s life?” they get aa shallow but oh-so-true answer of, “Well, I’m keeping busy.”
Why is it that we often talk about being “busy” as if it is an admirable thing? We gloat in the fact that we only sleep 4 hour a night, eat one meal a day, and cant keep up with all that is on our plate. In turn, we gain weight like a doughnut getting injected with jelly because we are so stressed. Is any of that really something to boast about?
So many times we tell each other – Man, I’ve been good but sure busy lately – and then wait for the response of admiration from other person. We want them to ask, Oh, how do you do it all? – as if our statement of busyness earns us some right to post a big “S” on our chest.
Telling someone that we are busy should sound the alarms that something is wrong and must change. Saying that we have packed our schedules full should be a embarrassing (or a cry for help). Why? Because “busy” is not something the Lord admires, so we shouldn’t either.
Search the scriptures for yourself. Try and find any passage that alludes to the fact that God desires His people to be busy. You will find none. In fact, you will find other passages that tell us to live lives exactly opposite and to not post in our works or accomplishments.
It seems that in the last few weeks I’ve told more people that “I’m so busy” than ever before. It was not that I was boasting in it (this time), but that I had grown accustom with a life of chaos. I caught myself explaining life and “What I’ve been up to” all the while painting a picture of a man who’s life was a wreck because he lost control and had no priorities.
It is time to change.
I’ve tried changing this before by cutting things, ending projects, saying “NO!’ here and there, but all this has only brought temporary relief. Unburying our lives has to happen in more ways then just skirting around the symptoms of a deeper issue.
Here are a few things I am going to do (or begin again) in order to gain composure with my schedule:
- Start my days in solitude. Jesus did this, and so should I. In the morning I will wake and spend sometime reading God’s Word, praying and journaling. If I have a really busy day or an early morning meeting scheduled, I will just get up earlier to ensure that I don’t miss this.
- Reconnect with those I love. Like a person with a drug addiction hurts those they love (and that love them) so busyness also has a way of hurting people. I will strive to make margin in my life so that relationships that are important to me can flourish there.
- Prioritize the most important things first. I will put what it is most important to me first in my days, weeks and months. This will ensure that I am not controlled by the urgent things, but faithfully investing in the important things.
- I will say “no” to everything possible until I am caught up. Why add to what is already broken? For a season, I will say no to any new commitments, projects and visions so that I can finish what I’ve already started. When I lose control, I lose privileges. I need to take care of the things I must do before adding more of what I want to do.
- Get more sleep. A final way that I will regain my composure in life is by getting more sleep. I truly believe, when I am lacking in rest and I am more apt to sin. I will do everything within my control to get the amount of sleep I need to be at my “A” game all the time.
The man who picked me up from the airport on a recent trip commented on my life and how busy I must be. He then proceeded to say something that was rather profound: “There is no such thing as balance.” I think he is right. Life comes in extremes; there is snow and there is sun; there are smiles and there are tears; life comes in extremes.
I will withstand life’s extremes by remaining sheltered in the quite place of God’s palm.
(A great book I would recommend to you is “Crazy Busy” by Kevin DeYoung.)
