Resources/Articles
The Evidence of Busyness
The evidence of our “love” for busyness is in priority shift. In Haggai, the temple was under reconstruction, but God’s people stopped building it. As the temple lie partially completed, the people decided to build their own personal dwellings. They resumed building the temple of God, but not until their priorities were realigned (Haggai 1:2-4). Whenever building the church of God becomes a priority, the church will grow, and not until then.
Another sign of busyness is word chokers. The simplest and most profound parable of Jesus is Luke 8:14. People allow the cares, riches, and pleasures choke out the most important means of communication God has with man - His word. If we fill our heads with the world, the word has no possible way to be heard nor last any longer than 12:00 p.m. on Sunday. In 1 Corinthians 3:1-3, the word of God Paul wanted to teach Christians was being choked out by all the carnal minds of the brethren. It was of no surprise that he learned of their strife, jealousy, and division. Those attitudes easily indicate people are “busy” in the world.
World adapters are another indication of busyness. You may have heard of the experiment where a frog is placed in a pan of cool water, the temperature of the water is gradually increased over time, and the frog boils to death without kicking in protest or any effort to escape the pan. It illustrates what can happen to us. Marriages do not dissolve suddenly. Churches do not die overnight. All these happen slowly. We develop such a busy pace because we have slowly adapted to our worldly pursuits. Romans 12:2 exhort us not to be conformed to the world in many areas, even busyness.
In a five-year study of data collected from over 20,000 people who say they are Christian (ages 15 to 88 across 139 countries), 4 in 10 say they “often” or “always” rush from task to task, and 6 in 10 Christians say that it is “often” or “always” true that “the busyness of life gets in the way of developing my relationship with God.” The author of the study (Zigarelli) described the problem among Christians as “a vicious cycle” prompted by cultural conformity, (1) “assimilating to a culture of busyness, hurry, and overload,” which leads to (2) “God becoming more marginalized in Christians’ lives,” which leads to (3) “a deteriorating relationship with God,” which leads to (4) “Christians becoming even more vulnerable to adopting secular assumptions about how to live,” which leads to (5) “more conformity to a culture of busyness” and the cycle is repeated (www.christianpost.com/article/20070730/28677_Survey:_Christians_Worldwide_Too_Busy_for_God.htm).
A most interesting sign of busyness is lukewarmness. Busy Christians become spiritually shallow, lack concentration, and are not involved. “Christian” is our name, but we are not walking with Christ as the heart and center of our lives. It is not that Christians are saying, “I don’t care.” Their actions show they do not. They are not opposed to Jesus, but they are not “on fire” for Him and His work either. This condition is created by independence and a primary focus on worldly ambition. Few understand how this condition is sickening to God. Jesus gave warning in Revelation 3:14-17 about what he would do to lukewarmness. This warning applies to any disciple who is too busy with other things. Let’s get back to having the passion and joy for God we had the day we entered the kingdom and approve the excellent things (Philippians 1:9-10).
When busyness takes over, ignorance is often the result. This is somewhat ironic given the ability we have to quickly find information on any subject we desire with a click of a mouse or a swipe of a finger. The dilemma is the knowledge we are attempting to receive. It’s not that it’s sinful to be educated in order to make proper decisions about house buying, the best running shoes to purchase, or the safest toys on the market. It is the busyness which keeps us hurried - hurried to the point we fail to have time or schedule a time to sit and talk to each other,(especially our families), or let God speak to us through His word, and us speak to Him in prayer.
Busy Christians do not know their Lord. If you take note of the intimate relationship Paul desried to have with God in Philippians 3:7-11, you would understand how it takes time in addition to knowledge received. The first matter to consider in obtaining this knowledge is WANTING to know. Paul wanted to know Christ more than anything. His knowledge did not come from moving to another city, changing jobs, getting married, or worshipping God at a different location. He just wanted to learn and know the Lord to be approved by Him (2 Timothy 2:15).
Rather than showing all the signs of busyness, let you light shine upon the fruit of the Spirit and the good works of God manifested in your life. Come out from under the yoke of busyness to be a servant of Christ.
