The Cost of Busyness

It seems we’re all busy all the time. How does “busyness” impact our relationship with God, affect our joy and influence our life balance?

I’ve decided I’m tired of the word busy. I use it all the time; I hear it all the time. No one, it seems, is ever not busy. 

Between raising a 2-year-old, running a small business, keeping food in the fridge and writing a book, I feel busy. However, I know there are many others who are far busier. 

The real question I’ve been trying to ask myself is, when someone asks how I am and I say that I am busy, what do I actually mean by it? 

Do I mean that I’m stressed? Or that life is bountifully full of good things? Or that I’m perpetually late because I’m running from one thing to the next? Or perhaps that I’m tired and looking forward to the Sabbath rest?

Busy versus bored

One of the things I’ve noticed about kids’ toys ever since my daughter was born is that they so often come with the word busy attached to them. A “busy book,” a “busy board,” a “busy cube.” Many of these toys and books are wonderful, educational and keep kids engaged with developmental and sensory activities. But as I’ve been focusing more on this word, I feel a little frustrated that we start teaching our kids from such a young age that they just need to “stay busy.”

Psychologists today are lamenting the lack of boredom in children’s lives. If they never have a chance to be bored, then their creativity and independence are stunted. “If we’re constantly filling their schedules and their brains, they’ll have no need to imagine a story, wonder how things work, or construct a fort with pillows and blankets,” writes Suzanne Bouffard, developmental psychologist and mother (PBS). 

This is also true for adults. When we’re constantly stimulated and rushing from one activity to another, we hinder our creativity, deep thinking and ability to find satisfaction in life’s simple moments.

Running to and fro

When I think about what the Bible teaches about busyness, the first verse that comes to my mind is Daniel 12:4: “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” That’s a sobering reminder that busyness is the norm in today’s world. Everyone is running to and fro, seemingly obsessed with knowing, with achieving and with doing. 

But wisdom? Quietness? Peace? Joy? These are not things we “do” or “accomplish.” Being “busy” gets us no closer to any of those things we say we want.

Martha, Martha

Perhaps the first verse that came to your mind was Martha’s struggle in Luke 10, when she was “distracted with much serving” (verse 40). 

When Jesus says, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things” (verse 41), I feel these words deeply. She’s doing her best—serving, giving, making sure everyone is cared for—yet in the process, she loses sight of who is actually in her home. Caught up in activity, she misses the opportunity to slow down, receive and simply sit at His feet to listen and learn.

How often do I feel the need to jump into the day focused on accomplishments and checking off tasks—when what I really need, and what would most benefit those around me, is to pause, sit, listen and learn at the feet of the Teacher? We have the opportunity to do that every day through Bible study. 

Building bigger

One of Jesus’ parables addresses how we view our time, effort and achievements. In context, someone in the crowd approaches Jesus with a concern about wealth, saying, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me” (Luke 12:13). Had the other brother asked for advice, Jesus might have urged him to act justly and share. But in answering the man who felt shortchanged and demanded fairness, Jesus recognized the covetousness in his heart.

“Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: ‘The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought to himself, saying, “What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?” So he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’” But God said to him, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?” So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God’” (Luke 12:16-21). 

Not all busyness stems from covetousness. Often, life is simply busy—filled with a mix of good and bad, enjoyable and unavoidable tasks. We have to go to the DMV, pick up groceries, vacuum the house, take the dog to the vet, change the oil, go to work, help with homework, buy new shoes for our kids, etc. These aren’t signs of greed—they’re part of life. Like building barns in Jesus’ parable, they aren’t inherently wrong. Hard work is often necessary, and much of it is good.

But . . . 

In all my busyness, what am I building and why? 

Am I building barns for myself, storing up wealth with the hope that one day life will be easier because of all my hard work? Am I taking credit for what I’ve earned, forgetting that it’s God who provides? Do I believe that my family’s happiness—and my own—depends entirely on my effort and busyness, rather than trusting that God desires to give us all things richly to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17)? 

Not because we’ve earned it, but simply because He loves us.

Slowing down

My goal is to slow down. Some seasons will bring deadlines, late nights and the feelings of always being behind—but I still have a choice. I can choose to say no when it’s too much, choose to create moments of quiet and rest even when the to-do list isn’t finished, and choose to bring God—and His peace—into every moment.

This is what He has to offer: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength” (Isaiah 30:15). Ancient Israel rejected God’s offer, but I can accept it. I want that rest, that quietness, that humble confidence in Him. 

For me, that starts with nixing the word busy.

For more on busyness, stress and finding balance, see “The Busyness Trap.”