Becoming Un-Busy

I read a thoughtful post last week called “The Disease of Being Busy” by Omed Safi, a columnist for On Being.  It was an older post but is one that still rings true today.

We are so, so busy, aren’t we? Americans like to do all the things. We pack our schedules full and then lament our 16-hour work days. Safi mentions that we are now doing this to our kids, too. We shuttle our third graders to painting class and basketball and gymnastics and dance; we have so many activities for them that we need planners just to keep track of our kids’ schedules. We rely on busy as Americans. But, as Safi mentions,

“This disease of being ‘busy’ (and let’s call it what it is, the dis-ease of being busy, when we are never at ease) is spiritually destructive to our health and wellbeing. It saps our ability to be fully present with those we love the most in our families, and keeps us from forming the kind of community that we all so desperately crave.”

This busyness is a gross habit, and I have lots of questions about it. I wonder what our busyness says about our own insecurities. I wonder what it says about our inability to just be. I wonder what it says about how we find our purpose. I wonder what it will do to our children…

An empty to-do list?! Who does that?!

Recently I wrote a post about the necessity of coupling prayer with action. Christians (and non-Christians) are quick to offer thoughts and prayers in times of tragedy or tumult, but they aren’t as quick to offer actual, legitimate help. In fact, a reader recently commented on my last post about the complexities of schedules that often prevent us from taking real action when people are hurting. He mentioned that we have a difficult time giving up our lifestyles, and I think this reader is onto something.

For many of us (especially those of us living in middle or upper-middle-class America), our lifestyles revolve around busy. This busy can give us access to certain tangible and intangible privileges. Certain jobs or positions give us notoriety--a sense of distinguishment in our communities. Some of our kids’ activities give us an “in” with a particular group of parents. Other connections or involvement in various activities may give us greater access to resources.

Let me be clear: I think these privileges can all be leveraged for good, but I fear that we directly benefit more from these than others do. So, then, giving up our lifestyles means giving up our self-interested access to these privileges.

In Matthew 19:30 and Matthew 20:16, Jesus explains to his disciples that “many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” And in John 3:30, John explains “He [God] must become greater; I must become less.” What these verses have in common is a surrendering of self, which is precisely what is necessary to reorient ourselves out of a life of busyness.

I’d argue that this is why it’s so hard for middle/upper-class American families to rearrange their lifestyles: We don’t want to. We don’t want to live without our comforts. We aren’t ready to sacrifice. We aren’t ready to deny self and take up our cross (or the cross of someone else). We are addicted to our busy schedules.

I want to push back against this cultural construct of busyness. We need time for silence, for regrouping, for connecting with God, for engaging in community and fellowship with others. And, did you know there are actual physical benefits to solitude?  I’d argue that we should all be more intentional about our schedules.

Even overfilling our schedules with God-honoring things can be detrimental.  We would do well to evaluate the motive behind our busy schedules. They can be filled with good and holy and honorable ambitions, but if they aren’t done out of love, if they are done out of pride, then what is the actual point? And if pride is our motivator, will we even be able to sustain this work to do the most good for the most amount of people?

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that today’s scripture reading in the Common Book of Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals comes from the short book of Haggai. In the first chapter, we learn that Haggai, a prophet, is speaking to Judean leaders about what God has told him about the Judeans. A prophet never brings a popular message, and Haggai is no different. He explains that the Judeans have worked hard to create good lives and beautiful homes for themselves while God’s temple lies in ruins. He continues by explaining that the Judeans are never satisfied (and will never be satisfied) because they’ve misplaced their priorities.

I can imagine that many Judeans were probably offended by this message. Likewise, I imagine that many people today would be offended by this message that is still relevant in 2017. A change of lifestyle is a hard pill to swallow.

As I begin thinking about a new semester, I’m reevaluating my commitments. I love all the things I’m doing, but I often find myself being sucked into the “dis-ease of being busy” (Safi). I’m learning that a full life doesn’t always equal a full schedule. What about you? Are there commitments you could let go? Is your full schedule preventing you from completing God’s priorities for your life?