Too Busy

"Life is busier today than it was when we were kids." That's what my daughter tells me.


I don't question the validity of that statement, but I do question the why of it. And why it puts so much pressure on her generation.

A lot of it has to do with our culture, although individual choices play a large part.

When Bob and I were first married, Blue Laws were still in effect. We couldn't even shop on Sundays! When our children were born, Sunday was still kept free of extra curricular activities, including sports and the arts. That began to change when my son was involved in sports. Even then, they seldom interfered with morning church service. That, too, began to change, however, before he graduated from high school. From then on, it seemed more and more activities were able to be crammed into a week.

As I ponder this situation, I realize that the prevalent Christian influence on our culture at that time truly helped us. We had one day of week that could be devoted to God, family and rest. Sabbath:  the Hebrew word shabbat, meaning "to cease, to stop, to pause".

Most of us understand that our bodies need sleep, a time to rejuvenate, to revitalize. Without sleep, our concentration disintegrates, we become moody and cranky, we are prone to mishaps, we simply don't function well. Proper sleep habits also affect our physical health. We who love God also accept the fact that He designed our bodies to need rest. We also believe that God knows what is best for us. So when God commanded His people to keep the Sabbath (to pause in their busy schedules), He was setting a guideline for what is best for His creation.

If you...call the Sabbath a delight

and the holy day of the Lord honorable;

if you honor it, not going your own ways,

or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;

then you shall take delight in the Lord,

and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;

I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,

for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

(Isaiah 58:13-14 ESV)

Note: keeping the Sabbath leads to delight in the Lord! Granted, we no longer keep the Sabbath by doing absolutely no work from sundown to sundown. Instead, after the resurrection of our Lord, our Sabbath became the first day of the week, a celebration of His resurrection and our new life in Him, a celebration of the New Covenant of salvation in Christ. And that celebration includes gathering with other believers to sing His praises, to learn from the Word, to fellowship with like-minded.

Even that was easier in the days when every Sunday - every Lord's Day - included Sunday School, morning and evening services, perhaps youth meetings and choir practices, too. We often napped in the afternoons. Or we would fellowship with others over dinner (a beef roast in the oven while we were in church) or after evening service. We never, ever dreamed of skipping church unless we were sick. But today, as other things interrupt our Sabbath rest, church has less priority. Hence the dropping of evening services in most churches. Even adult Sunday School has begun to slip into oblivion.

Granted, our churches are imperfect - they are comprised of sinners, perhaps mostly redeemed sinners, but still sinners. But they are God-ordained. We don't always worship from the heart when we attend, but that's not the fault of our church. Attendance may at times seem to be nothing more than tradition. But there's nothing wrong with tradition. Look at all the fasts and feasts of the Old Testament that God established to commemorate His work among His people! 

So, I ask, "What have we gained from all our busyness? Pressure? Lack of contentment? Inability to be still? Where is our delight in the Lord?

Delight yourself in the Lord,

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

(Psalm 37:4)

Be still before the Lord 

and wait patiently for him.

(Psalm 37:7)

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,

and all these things will be added to you.

(Matthew 6:33)

So, as we ponder these verses, we might ask ourselves if all our activities are really necessary. Do some activities keep us from delighting ourselves in the Lord, from being still before Him, from seeking first His kingdom? Remember, anything we put ahead of the Lord becomes an idol of the heart. Even good activities. Let us be sure we commit our plan to God and allow the Holy Spirit to help us choose what good activities are the right ones for us to be involved with and which ones are not truly necessary. May we follow His leading, living fruitful lives without pressure, putting God first and foremost. Do all those great activities really matter in light of eternity? We need to prepare ourselves and our families not just for life on this earth, but also for eternity.