The World Wants Us Busy
On the way home from school the other day, our daughter asked me what we had going on after school. I reminded her of the few things we had to do when we got home, then I said the magic words: “But I think that’s it.”
She replied with a relieved sigh saying, “Oh good, that means I’ll have time to play!”
Our daughter is in 6th grade. This was not the response I was expecting, coming from a middle schooler, but this is the very response that I never want to forget in a world that just wants us busy. Because when we are busy, we forget what’s truly important. And often those things, those “important things”, aren’t what bring in the revenue.
You see, the world wants us busy because then the world gets US.
- Our world wants us too busy to cook so that we go to restaurants to buy their food.
- Our world wants us too busy working, so that we grow the market.
- Our world wants us too busy to be home so that we are out and about spending.
- Our world wants us too busy to garden so that we buy fresh produce that comes from across the world.
- Our world wants us too busy to mend our clothes so that we just buy it new.
- Our world wants us too busy to go to church so that we can contribute to the $40 billion dollar industry called youth sports.
- Our world wants us too busy to take care of our bodies so that we keep big pharma alive.
- Our world wants us too busy to care for the stuff in our homes so that we just build them bigger to store all the stuff we buy.
But what if, WHAT IF…
We spend less time trying to keep up with the world around us and spend more time resting in the “enoughness” of what God has already blessed us with, inside our homes, and with our families?
Don’t get me wrong, I take prescription meds that have kept me alive for decades, due to heart failure. I buy produce from the store on the regular, but also attempt a garden each year. I go out to eat occasionally. I buy things that I probably don’t need. All the things listed above though, come with a cost. And what cost are we willing to pay, in order to have convenience at our fingertips? What cost are we willing to pay by staying busy, in order to “get ahead” in life, but really, in the end, fall behind instead, only to spend more and more, to try and catch up again? What is it going to take for us to slow down and be excited to just “go home and play”? Do we, as a culture, even know how to do that anymore?
Watching our daughter come home that day, sitting in the corner, playing with her Legos while recreating the story in her head through her Lego people, reminded me that the busyness of life is stealing the joy from our todays. These are the little moments of joy that are becoming fewer and fewer in the name of convenience.
Ultimately, the world wants us too busy so that we listen to it, instead of God, Himself. It’s hard to “be still and wait for the Lord” (Psalm 37:7) when we are never still. It’s hard to hear His voice when we are never quiet enough to listen. It’s hard to appreciate His blessings when we are never home to enjoy them.
The world wants us busy. I know I have to daily check myself, my home, and how we live our lives to ensure that the busyness of them, don’t drown out the blessings, gifts, grace, love, and presence of our God.
How about you?
