I can’t remember the last time I asked someone how they were doing and “busy” wasn’t part of their response.
Busyness is cool. It’s a sign of importance. It says, “I have a demanding job, family, and life” and sometimes adds, “and I’m not afraid to let you know.” It’s not always in pride. In reality, most of us are busy. It’s a badge of honor worn proudly, and we can’t help but let people see it.
Kevin DeYoung, one of my favorite authors, has written a “mercifully short book” about busyness–Crazy Busy.
I appreciate DeYoung because although he’s significantly smarter than me, he writes in a clear way, with well-thought through concepts that get to the heart of the matter. He’s not afraid to share his own journey and struggles, which line the pages of Crazy Busy in an honest and helpful way.
Weighing in at just over 100 and some pages, Crazy Busy is crazy short. It’s made up of 10 chapters, with the majority of the book being seven diagnostic chapters that help us identify the roots of our busyness.
The main seven diagnoses are:
- Pride
- Doing too much
- Poor prioritizing
- Freaking out about your kids
- Technology addiction
- Forgoing rest
- Skirting suffering
The greatest strength of the book is in the questions that are posed and the problems that lead to our busyness.
While Crazy Busy excels in diagnostics, it falls short in a lengthy list of practical applications. DeYoung gives a simple solution to our busyness: sit at the feet of Jesus. Spend time in prayer and in His word. Connect with the Lord. That’s it.
Others find fault with this conclusion to the book, but is the solution to a busy life adding lots of application points? Will a 20-point checklist solve our dilemma of busyness?
I don’t think so. And so, like a good doctor trying to cure the disease instead of simply eradicating the symptoms, DeYoung helps us by asking the right questions, getting to the root issue, and offering a simple solution: we need more Jesus.
The book greatly ministered to me and for the couple hours it takes to blaze through it, it’s worth the time (if you can make it in the midst of your busy schedule). Here are a few of my favorite quotes with my thoughts tossed in the mix.
The most stressed out people live in the most affluent countries.
More money, more problems. The constant upkeep of all of our stuff keeps us busy. When we aren’t taking care of our stuff, we’re trying to acquire more of it by putting in more hours or looking for the best and cheapest version of something.
Busyness kills more Christians than bullets.
It’s certainly true in America. Busyness is a soul-strangler, and even if it doesn’t kill us, it wears us down, causes us to sin, and helps us lose sight of Jesus.
Busyness does not mean you are a faithful or fruitful Christian. It only means you are busy, just like everyone else.
Amen. Let’s let go of the busyness badge of honor. It’s a reality, but it’s not a token of faithfulness.
We won’t all care about every issue in the same way, but there are some issues we should all care about, some issues that should at least prick our hearts and prompt us to pray. Not giving a rip about sex slaves is not an option for the Christian. Not doing something directly to combat this particular evil is an option.
This is helpful and refreshing. We can’t do something directly about everything. We can stop and pray. We can step in when the Lord calls us to. But just as he’s given us different gifts and resources, he’s given us all different callings.
[Jesus] never uttered a thoughtless word, never spent a wasted day, never strayed from his Father’s plan. I have often marveled to think that Jesus was so terrifically busy, but only with the things he was supposed to be doing.
Busyness isn’t a sin. But let’s be busy with the right things.
Understand that people often say “I’m busy” because saying “I have many priorities in life and right now you aren’t one of them” would be too painful. Don’t think it rude if some people have less availability for you than you have for them. And don’t begrudge people the time you are so desperately fighting for. Unless we’re God, none of us deserve to be the priority for everyone else all the time.
This is a tough truth to accept, but it’s dead on. So don’t be enraged when people don’t make time for you by simply saying, “I’m busy.” It’s an incomplete answer, but it’s a euphemism you should embrace, because the full truth is hard and hurtful.
What is wrong—and heartbreakingly foolish and wonderfully avoidable—is to live a life with more craziness than we want because we have less Jesus than we need.
Let’s choose more Jesus today.