We’re busy people! Overtime. yard work, recreation, community service, education, extracurricular activities, and out-of-town travel keep us hopping. Even retired folks are busy (or so I hear)!
While I’d rather be busy than bored, our hectic schedules often have a profoundly negative impact on our spirituality. Bible study? Who has time for that? Prayer? I’m far too busy? Visit these discouraged brethren? Some other time! Contact those prospects for a home Bible study? I have too many other things to do!
Sound familiar? It need not be the case! We can and must prioritize. There is nothing wrong with being busy, provided that you keep the Lord and his kingdom first and foremost (Matthew 6:33).
God has always used busy people. Moses was busy tending his father-in-law’s flocks; Elisha was busy plowing; Matthew was busy collecting taxes; Peter, Andrew, James, and John were busy fishing. Somebody said, “If you want something done, give it to a busy person.” I’m suspicious of a repair shop or a restaurant that isn’t busy; maybe there’s a good reason the place is empty! A busy place, on the other hand, probably means they do quality work in a reasonable time. Likewise, even though we are busy, we can do good, timely work for the Lord.
Jesus warned that the cares of the world, especially the riches and pleasures of this life, would choke out the word of God in the hearts of many, rendering them fruitless for God (Mark 4:19; Luke 8:14). While we try to keep up with the break-neck pace of our world, let us not be distracted by what it has to offer. Remember, it is all temporary; only what is done for Christ is eternal.
I wish you every success in your education, your career, politics, your finances, athletics, and whatever else you choose to pursue that is righteous before God. But no matter how well you succeed in any or all of these, if you neglect the Lord and lose your soul, you are an utter failure! “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26).
–Joe Slater
