The Idol of Busyness
As Summer comes to a close and people begin to set their sights back on school schedules, sports schedules, and all the routines that come along with that I have been convicted of how the cult of the calendar can lead our lives and very often it is away from Christ and focused on our own desires. In today’s modern culture, we treat a busy schedule as a badge of honor. “My kids and family are part of things and that shows that we are successful at things!” Often sports, choir, Boy/Girl Scouts are treated as a non-negotiable that changes our identity, our attitude, even the meals that we choose to eat out of convenience. Our schedule can become an idol when it is no longer a busy season but an identity. Have we chosen our schedule (that we love to pretend to hate) over God, rest and relationships? Over-scheduling, and refusing to make time for resting in our Creator isn’t just idolatry but it produces sin in our lives.
Why do we choose this idol? What is at the root of the busyness idol? In the Bible, idolatry is the worship, service, or extreme devotion given to anything created—such as physical statues, false gods, money, or self—instead of the Creator. Idolatry happens when we replace God at the center of our lives and we put something else and that becomes the ultimate thing that we center all other things around.
Scripture warns against idolatry.
"You shall have no other gods before me." — Exodus 20:3
"Put to death therefore what is earthly in you... and covetousness, which is idolatry." — Colossians 3:5
Do your commitments replace the Sabbath? Is church attendance the first thing to go when feeling overwhelmed with the rat race you find yourself in? Do you seem to not find time for a committed devotional and prayer life because your attention is so focused on the next thing that needs to be done or accomplished?
Our schedule not only shows where our heart is focused and who is claiming our highest allegiance but a hurried schedule will also have behavioral consequences in our day to day life. Living a life in a constant rush can lead to impatience and being short-tempered with others: spouses, children and neighbors. When I reflect on my own attitude in busyness, I not only have a short amount of grace and patience with others, but I also leave no room to give thanks to God for my daily blessings. A hurried life also leads to unwise decision making, not taking time to be discerning to be in prayer to seek what the Lord holds for your future.
Luke 10: 38-42
38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
We can see here in Luke, Martha is distracted by serving while preparing to host Jesus while Mary sat at His feet. While Jesus does rebuke Martha for serving, He saw right to the root of the issue, pointing out where her heart was.
"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her." — Luke 10:41–42
Mary chose the good portion and yet Martha had a resentful heart for her. It blinded Martha to the blessing of being in the presence of Christ right in front of her and caused her to be resentful of Mary who chose what was best. Have you found yourself resenting others who are in a different season of life that has slowed down or looked down on others who are not participating in the chaotic rat race that you have chosen to participate in finding pride in the busy schedule? I find that pride creeps in very easily when I am busy. My heart focuses on me instead of Christ. I become aggravated when the schedule doesn’t go as planned because it inconveniences me and I become the center of my attention not Christ.
So, what is the remedy? Scripture doesn’t present rest as a luxury but an act of obedience.
"Be still, and know that I am God." — Psalm 46:10
We can look to time-management apps, or more calendars and try to grit our teeth and work harder at being less scheduled but the true remedy is abiding in Jesus.
"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." — Matthew 11:28
Finding rest can be so hard. It does take self-discipline. It does take obedience and trust that God is the author of time and should be the director of our schedule. Handing over our calendars to Christ is a spiritual discipline. Saying "no" to secondary commitments is often the only way to say "yes" to honoring God with a quiet, grateful heart. Let’s start first at the heart, and ask God to show us how we can honor Him with our time as we start up this new season in our life.