When Did Being Busy Become a Badge of Honor?

Our culture often celebrates packed schedules and constant activity, but is being busy really the same as living with purpose?

Bob Shaw shares a personal story, examines the pressure to always be doing something, and looks at the example Jesus set in the midst of demanding circumstances. It's a reminder that our value isn't determined by how full our calendars are.

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Transcript

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Ask somebody how they're doing. Busy has become one of the most common answers you'll hear, and for some reason, we almost wear it like a badge of honor. I'm Bob Shaw, and this is Faith Fuel. I had a coworker years ago who was worried people might think he wasn't busy enough, so he'd walk quickly down the hallway carrying a piece of paper with a concerned look on his face. His goal wasn't to get somewhere, he just wanted to look like he had somewhere important to be. We laugh at that. But there's a reason he thought it would work. Most of us tend to assume busy people are important people, and people rarely say they're busy in a frustrated way anymore. Nowadays it almost sounds like an accomplishment. Being busy used to describe what we were doing. Now it kind of feels like a measure of who we are. Now, of course, there are seasons of life that are genuinely busy. Raising kids, taking care of aging parents, building a career, serving at church. Yeah, life can get full. But that's not really what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the guilt that rears its ugly head when we stop. My son Nick is dealing with that right now. He's looking for a teaching job, sending out applications, making contacts, doing everything he can do. But if he takes a break for even a little while, he starts feeling guilty. Like he should be doing something. Maybe you know that feeling. I've joked before that my daily goal is just to be home. I avoid the bad kind of busyness like the plague. And yet even then, it's easy to feel like you're supposed to be accomplishing something every second of the day. Have you noticed that Jesus never seemed driven by that kind of pressure? Talk about busy. Crowds wanted his attention. People needed him. There was always more work to do. Yet he stepped away to pray. He withdrew from the crowds. At one point, he was asleep in a boat during a storm. Jesus lived with purpose, but he wasn't controlled by urgency. Psalm 46, verse 10 says, Be still and know that I am God. It's challenging, isn't it? Being still feels unproductive. Doing nothing can feel wasteful, but our value has never come from how much we accomplish. It comes from God. The problem isn't hard work. It's believing we have to keep proving our worth through constant activity. That's a race nobody ever wins. Lord, help us to work hard when it's time to work and rest when it's time to rest. Free us from the need to constantly prove ourselves and remind us that our value comes from being your children. In Jesus' name. Amen. The world will always give you more to do. That doesn't mean God is asking you to prove yourself. Thanks for spending a few minutes with me today. Follow Faith Fuel, and let's do it again tomorrow. I'm Bob Shaw. Peace and joy.