The Cost of Busyness

Well, I'm still in Leading with a Limp, and just got to the section where Dan Allender talks about busyness. In most professional vocations, being "busy" is a badge of honor—a virtue that says I am not lazy. However, and surprisingly, Allender says,

"A lazy person does little to nothing while a busy person dos almost everything, but the similarity is that both refuse to be intentional. Busyness is the equivalent to moral laziness... because it involves refusing to live with courage and intentionality."

He then addresses the "real cost" of busyness, saying that it contributes to "the loss of our spiritual vitality." Maybe that is why Jesus never seemed hurried or busy. He was focused and intentional about what he was called to do, and even took regular times away from people to spend focused time connecting with the Father. And I think we can agree that Jesus was spiritually vital—so vital that he was willing to fulfill the Father's will of going to the cross. That was his focus. He was vital unto suffering.

It makes me wonder, in all of my busyness, am I spiritually vital? In reflection, it may be that allowing myself to get so busy reveals a deep seated, stubborn, and arrogant heart that insists on doing more than resting, believing, praying and yielding. And so I am faced with another opportunity to be still, joyfully repent, and be thankful that my life is not to be defined by my work, but His.

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