Quitting The Busy Games

[The Midweek Encounter is a ministry of Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. These posts are reflections on Sunday's message, which can be heard here each week: http://myencounterchurch.org/#/messages-media]

The Busy Games are popular these days. When I was in college, which is where I first became aware of this phenomenon, they sounded like this: “I’m taking 18 credit, working part time, and volunteering at the soup kitchen,” would be met with “I’m taking 20 credits, working full-time, and volunteering as both the preacher and worship leader every week at my church, and I’m married with 2 kids.” Now that I’m out of college, they sound like: “I work 60 hours a week and walk my 2 kids to and from school every day and am learning Russian in my spare time,” or maybe, “l have 5 kids and they’re each involved in at least 3 extracurricular activities and I run an online business from my living room.” No matter what The Busy Games sound like, the reality is that they never have a winner.

Photo Credit: Flickr User schmollmolch, Creative Commons

Having a full calendar can be a way of making us feel important. We like to show that we’re busy because being busy means we matter to the people and places we devote our time to. If there are lots of demands on our time, then certainly we must have value as a person.  But this busyness can take its toll in unexpected ways, often so slowly we hardly recognize that it’s happening. Not having time to relax and do what we enjoy is one thing, but suffering relationships with God, family, and friends, are less immediate effects that can ultimately be devastating.

In the story of King Ahab, as told in 1 Kings 20 and the surrounding chapters, we see a classic case of divided loyalty. He wanted safety for his kingdom, but to gain it, he went against the express orders that had been given to him by a prophet of God. Ahab took his eyes off God and allowed himself to be distracted by other things. When we look at our own lives, we may find that much of our busyness is chosen busyness. The ways we spend our time are a major indicator of what we truly value. We may say we value our faith and our family, but if we’re not investing in them in tangible ways because we’re too busy with other things, it’s hard to see that our commitment to what we claim to value most is strong. 

Oswald Chambers writes in his book My Utmost for His Highest:

The busyness of things obscures our concentration on God. We must maintain a position of beholding Him, keeping our lives completely spiritual through and through. Let other things come and go as they will; let other people criticize us as they will; but never allow anything to obscure the life that “is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). Never let a hurried lifestyle disturb the relationship of abiding in Him.

It's easy to get caught up in playing The Busy Games, but much of what we brag about isn't worth bragging about at all. What would it look like if our conversations instead revolved around the ways we are working on our relationship with God, sharing with others what we discussed in Bible study, where we've seen God at work, how our Christian community is challenging us to live more fully for him? These all take time as well, but their ultimate payoff stands to be much greater than we may ever fully realize. There are no winners in the The Busy Games, but we can be winners in an eternal sense if we fix our eyes on the God who truly matters. 


[Brianna DeWitt believes in Jesus, surrounding yourself with good people, and that desserts are best when they involve chocolate and peanut butter. She writes about faith, growing up, and whatever else pops into her head on her own blog, and tweets (largely about food) at @bwitt722.]