The word busyness came about in the early 1800’s. It is simply defined by the dictionary as the state of being involved in many activities. In an age that worships at the altar 10,000 television shows, hobby’s galore, and massive sports entertainment complexes, can we avoid the juggernaut of activity we call busyness? God designed us for hard purposeful work with a built in day or time of rest. This good purposeful work is often replaced today by myriads of activity. Here are three keys that many might find surprising in helping us get beyond busyness to something much better. That is purposefulness.
Define your purposefulness by reading the Bible: The Bible can not be manipulated by current trends and philosophies of the day, and because of this it freely defines our true purpose and right focus. The Bible is truth that dwells outside of the current melee of the moment. It’s best to read all 40 chapters in proportion to their importance, and in understanding of their context, as they were written by 66 different authors over 1500 years inspired by God. Large sections of it are obvious even for the modern reader without any study of its context. But in studying its context with the almost unlimited amount of information that is available about it, the Bible unfolds ever more insight into the reality of existence and our best use of time and action. It is the only book like itself out of 10’s of millions of books written.
Pray. Our age screams, fights, tussles against genuine prayer. Materialism claims by its very nature that there is no spiritual world and fills this void with activity. All is a grand accident most materialists say and we should get, fight, and scrap for what you can get now for ourselves and our tribe. Christianity says we’re in a great spiritual battle for all in which one of our greatest things we can do is petition, affirm his promises, and worship a Holy God in a genuine faith. The enemy of this God would prefer we do anything but this and desires we keep busy with mostly trivia.
Be faithful in small things. God says those who are faithful in the small things, and especially in the unseen things, will be rewarded. Vincent Van Gough sold one work in his lifetime, but today he is listed only behind Leanardo Di Vincci as the worlds most famous painter while multitudes of people once believed to be important are now forgotten. Our work done for God is significant, will be seen for eternity, and all is noticed by God while other work outside his desire and glory will be of no value. For many of us though, this thought goes against every grain of being that we have been taught in a social media age where everything says do lots, post lots, be seen and liked lots.
The Red Vineyard at Arles is thought to be the only painting sold by Van Gough in his lifetime. It shows people doing hard purposeful work.
Study the Bible, pray, and be faithful is a simple, flexible, and easy playbook to follow to get beyond busyness to purposefulness. We all can be poor students of it. The challenge is for us to quit being distracted with the things other people think matter but God doesn’t. Busyness may better be defined as being diverted from what God wants us to be doing. The good news is that God not only sent Jesus to be our savior from sin, but the Holy Spirit to help us focus. Let’s all ask for the Holy Spirit to help, relax, smile, and take one step forward at a time.
The words of British poet Robert Abrahams say it well, “For some men die by shrapnel, And some go down in flames, But most men perish inch by inch, In play at little games.” Our goal is to identify the little games and put a stop to them and put the right weight on the right things.
The words of British poet Robert Abrahams say it well, “For some men die by shrapnel, And some go down in flames, But most men perish inch by inch, In play at little games.” Our goal is to identify the little games and put a stop to them and put the right weight on the right things.
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