Busyness is an interesting god. It tells us that we are important and needed. It reminds us that if we keep moving, eventually our existence will be validated. This idol tells us that if we stop to chat with our elderly neighbor or write a letter to a friend, that someone else will be gaining ground on us. Busyness becomes such powerful force demanding our worship, that we minimize things like relationships because relating doesn't get us anywhere.
Networking. Now, that's the kind of relating that the god of busyness loves. It makes us feel like we are investing in another human being, but actually we are just using them as fuel to drive our desire to be known by others and appear successful to the world around us.
In the Christian world, we can fill our days with good things. Things that look like service and love, but in our minds, we know that they are simply the Christian counterpart to the secular desire for fame. We simply find a smaller pool to become known in.
I have fallen pray to the idol of busyness too many times to count. As I am running around frantically serving others, Jesus is waiting for me to stop. I am finding much contentment in being a Martha, when Jesus is simply sitting over with Mary.
What would happen to me if all the busyness simply stopped?
Would I fall apart or would I begin to breathe?
At the end of the day, did I find more joy in praying quietly in the back of the room with a struggling friend, or attending the meeting with all the big names?
