It’s February, we’re all busy and tired, maybe even starting to feel burnt out. How often do you find yourself making the excuse “I’m so sorry, I’ve just been so busy.” Busyness is an experience of life that we all face quite often. I’m sure you are familiar with the danger of slipping into a busy brain fog which causes our work to no longer produce fruit. With this article I hope to expand your understanding of the difference between busyness and fruitfulness, and give some practical advice about how to consciously balance the two.
We all know what busyness is, but for clarity’s sake we can define it as “Having a lot to do.” Fruitfulness is “Accomplishing something of significance-especially eternal significance.” Busyness can also be measured relative to how much time we have to spend doing what’s required of us compared to the amount of time left over to please ourselves. Laziness is when you’re sitting around doing nothing or refusing to do stuff you’re supposed to do. The second part of that definition reveals that you can be lazy even when you are busy. Lazy busyness is when you’re keeping yourself occupied with things that do not have long term, ultimate, or eternal significance. Busyness is not an immunity from laziness, in fact, it can be an expression of laziness rather than diligence, faithfulness or fruitfulness. In CJ Mahanay’s article about Biblical Productivity,(1) he says that “The sluggard can be busy—busy neglecting the most important work, and busy knocking out a to-do list filled with tasks of secondary importance.” He continues “It is the simple truth that underlying our procrastination—putting off the most important duties we are called to accomplish—was not so much a busy schedule but a sinful heart.” It’s a hard truth to hear, but often the root of our procrastination expressed by busyness is our sinful heart. It’s our way of avoiding what we really should be doing such as spending time with God or serving others; making a difference in a relationship, or bringing anyone closer to truth, love, justice, and God.
It is important to ask ourselves “What kind of busy am I?” Am I busy with purposeful fruitful work? Am I busy pouring love into other’s lives, and serving my neighbor? Am I completing my homework in order to learn and remember the material? Or am I in a constant and tiring state of having something to do? Am I working to make an impact on a life (including my own), or am I checking a box in a canvas-like to-do list?
If packing your schedule is going to make you half hearted at most of your work, then you are no longer producing fruit. You must learn to discern when to say no. Spending time alone with God can help you to discern when it is necessary to say no to an opportunity.
Solitude with God and not “doing” anything is necessary in order to break away from the haste and stress of life. It rejuvenates you to be more productive and joyful when you return to the tasks before you.
We can rest in the knowledge that God is the only one who can accomplish his entire to-do list each day.
There are still many things we must do each day that are required of us, but how can we be fruitful even in the mundane “busy work”? A change in attitude or holding back a complaining comment are some simple first steps. What changes will you make in your day that will give you more time to be fruitful rather than just busy? May we all strive to avoid all forms of laziness and focus our eyes on the work of eternal significance in each moment of our lives, trusting and depending on God through it all. “And given the active presence of pride and self‐sufficiency in my life, it is imperative for me at the outset of each day to devote time to humbling myself before the Lord and acknowledging my dependence upon him for all that awaits me”(CJ Mahaney).
By Elisabeth Halberstadt ‘27, Music Editor
27ehalberstadt@montroseschool.org
Mahaney, CJ, Biblical Productivity, Pages 10-12, http://www.cjmahaney.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Biblical-Productivity.pdf
