Crazy Busy

Turning away from pride and clinging to right priorities will mean, for example, that we won’t get caught up in overparenting our kids in the all-consuming way that’s

for so many of us being busyness, we must re-orient our lives toward our Savior. By placing our hope in salvation through Jesus, rather than the things of this world, we will find rest for our souls (Matthew 11:28–30).

dominant in our culture. It will mean we won’t let digital

If you’re sick and tired of feeling so dreadfully busy, this

devices strangle our soul in screen addiction. It will mean

could be the best advice you’ll find anywhere: devote

our acceptance of the pattern of Sabbath rest as God’s

yourself to the Word of God and prayer. No single practice

gift for our good—and our opportunity to trust his work

brings more peace and discipline to life than sitting at the

more than our own.

feet of Jesus. This is the place to start, because being with

We’ll also accept the truth that we’re supposed to be

Jesus is the only thing strong enough to pull us away from

busy—but in the right way. The antidote to over-

crazy busyness. We won’t say no to more craziness until we

busyness isn’t sloth and indifference, but rather rest,

say yes to more Jesus.

rhythm, death to pride, acceptance of our own finitude, and trust in God’s providence. It isn’t work itself that’s bad busyness, but working hard at the wrong things: trying to please or control others, trying to do things we haven’t been called to do.

YES TO JESUS At the end of Luke 10 we find the closest thing Jesus gave to a sermon on busyness (though it’s only two

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sentences), in a story about the sisters Mary and Martha. While Mary sat listening to Jesus, Martha was “distracted with much serving.” Jesus told her, “One thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion” (Luke 10:38–42).

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For us, taking time to be with Jesus and learn from him must be the priority in life. It isn’t enough to let “God-

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stuff” fill in the cracks during the day. With the problem www.goodnewstracts.org

© 2017 by Good News Tracts. All rights reserved. Printed in the US. Cover design: © Faceout Studio. Bible references: ESV. Adapted from the book Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung, © 2013. Published by Crossway.

BUSY IN THE RIGHT WAY

GOD WILL

CRAZY BUSY YO U

K AENVNIE NG R AD HEAYM OL OUTNZ G

THE REAL THREAT

We say yes because we want these people to like us and

The biggest dangers arising from this hectic and frustrating modern life aren’t what we might expect. The most serious

Busyness also springs from such prideful factors as our

threats are spiritual. When we’re crazy busy, we put our

tendency to overestimate our importance, our ambition

souls at risk. Few of us are as safe as we may think.

to prove ourselves, or poor planning resulting from our refusal to seek help. How can we tell when pride

An immediate and obvious spiritual threat is that busyness

MOS T

can ruin our joy. When we’re frantic and frenzied, we’re

people feel frazzled and

hearts, like seed-growth choked out by

overwhelmed much of the time.

thorns in Jesus’s parable in Mark 4. Those

We’re distracted and preoccupied

world” (Mark 4:19).

in the same sorts of ways—struggling

Another danger is in how busyness

under a crushing weight of work, family,

covers up the rot in our souls. As

exercise, bills, church, school, friends,

Am I trying to do good—or to make myself look good?

Busyness also robs spiritual vitality from our

thorns, he said, include “the cares of the

AM I TRYING

WHAT DOES GOD EXPECT?

TO DO GOOD—

For some people, because of pride

OR TO MAKE MYSELF LOOK

Christians, we ought to understand deep down that the problem with extreme

and desires.

world’s complexity—something isn’t right with us.

The chaos is at least partly self-created. Things aren’t as they ought to be because we aren’t what we should be.

requirements, and ambitions add up to more than we can handle, whether we admit this or not.

diagnostic question you may find helpful:

and irritability.

busyness isn’t just with our schedules or the

for most of us, our responsibilities,

has made us frantic and overwhelmed? Here’s a self-

more prone to anxiety, resentment, impatience,

and a barrage of requests, demands,

It’s safe to say that on a typical day

pat our back; we fear their disapproval.

ROOTED IN PRIDE Our understanding of busyness must start with the one sin that begets so many others: pride.

We’re busy because we try to do too many things; we do too many things because we say yes to too many people.

GOOD?

as well as other reasons, opportunities we encounter often feel like obligations. We end up trying to do what God doesn’t expect us to do.

Even Jesus in his life on earth didn’t meet every need coming his way. He didn’t try doing it all. He did, however, do everything God asked him to.

Jesus stayed resolutely on mission. He was busy,

but never distracted by lesser things. He knew his priorities and stuck with them.

If Jesus is our example, we’ll know God expects us to say no to many good things so we’re freed up to say yes to what’s most important. Otherwise, we can’t serve others effectively. Setting priorities is an expression of love for others and for God.