Busyness: The Devil's Workshop?

I heard a cell phone ad the other day that reminded me of the busyness of life. A wife was talking to her husband about the need for a family meeting. They needed to discuss the kid’s schedules, i.e., gymnastics, scouts, ballgames, practices, school plays, etc. The couple decided that they could work in a family meeting on November 16… 2006. (Of course, the solution to this family’s dilemma was to buy cell phones for everyone so that they could talk together anytime.)

We really struggle with the busyness of life. An old English proverb says, “Idleness is the devil’s workshop.” While that may be true, I believe that the opposite is true too. “Busyness is the devil’s workshop.”

Busyness can be an obstacle to your spiritual life. If you have school-aged children you may feel more like a cab driver than a parent. You may feel more like a short-order cook instead of a mom. If you have one child in scouts, another in karate, and another taking ballet and all three in school and active in the church, then you’ve got a full and busy life.

But even if you’re beyond that stage of life, you’re probably busy. You don’t have to have small children to be busy. Busyness is the American way. It’s an expectation. It’s a status symbol. We greet each other with “How’s it going?” “Busy.”

You don’t have to have small children to be busy. You can have a job, serve in a volunteer organization or two, take a class, and be active in the church and you’ll have a full calendar. My in-laws have been retired for many years now and they claim that they are busier now than ever.

There’s a line to be drawn somewhere between busyness and laziness. If idleness is the devil’s workshop and busyness is the devil’s workshop then how do we get into God’s workshop? As God’s people, we are to be progressing, moving along, and growing. But it is necessary for us to know the difference between progress and pressure. A Christian should always be progressing but rarely in a hurry. Where to draw the line between busyness and laziness can only be determined by you and God.

It isn’t wrong to be busy. Look through the Bible and you’ll see godly men and women who were busy. Moses, David, Joshua, and Paul were busy doing God’s work. But you need to know that a busyness that is not directed by God is not blessed by God. Busyness can devastate your spiritual life as easily as idleness can. Jesus did not say, “I have come so that you can be busy.” He said, “I have come that you may have life.”

One of the keys to living a satisfying Christian life is finding that path that allows you to progress and grow and serve as a Christian at a pace that doesn’t create burnout and broken dreams.