Psalm 127:2
“Are you keeping busy?” This is often the first question Matthew’s father asks him when he visits. Even though Matthew’s father has Alzheimer’s dementia and doesn’t remember much past a minute or two, “Are you keeping busy?” or sometimes “How are you keeping busy?” is often the first two questions he asks Matthew, and the seventh, and the tenth, and so on. For Matthew’s father, keeping busy is a good thing. To not be busy, in his mind, is laziness. So, for him to ask “Are you keeping busy” is a bit like asking “Are you being a good and worthwhile human person?” His father understands that labor is a good thing. And yet . . . and yet there were still a few ways in which his attitudes reflected aspects of a secular upbringing and culture. That is true of all of us, no matter how long we have followed Christ. As Romans 12:2 reminds us, we all need God’s transforming work in our lives so that our thoughts are renewed and shaped by Him rather than conformed to the world’s pattern; we need continuously to reexamine our thinking to see whether it is being shaped by our culture or by our relationship with God. Our perspective on busyness is one such area of tension between cultural values and a Biblical perspective. Certainly, work is a good thing: a gift and responsibility given to us by God. Part of what God made us for is to do good and worthwhile work. Unfortunately, one of the ways our culture distorts the goodness of work is by idolizing busyness. Being constantly busy is often seen as a badge of glory in our world. It’s a way to earn worth in a society that in so many ways devalues human life and relationships. Even many of our “complaints” about extreme busyness are really hidden boasts; saying, “I’m just so busy” is a way of signaling our virtue and worth. We often fall into that, not only at work but even in church. God the Father, through Biblical teachings and the example of His Son Jesus, offers a different way. While work is a good gift, God also calls us to rest. While it may be appropriate to have times of the day in which we are busy with labor we have been given, we should not be always keeping busy. Constant busyness is not spiritually, relationally, or physically healthy. We need rest. God built rest into the very fabric of creation. He gives us the gift of daily periods of rest (sleep, mealtimes, and times of quiet reflection with Him) and He calls us to accept those gifts. Along with daily times of rest, He also calls us to a weekly time of rest: a day of Sabbath we are instructed to honor and keep holy. And God also grants us much-needed seasons of rest when we lay aside work for longer periods. For the Israelites, these included seasons of celebrations and festivals. I encourage you to meditate on Psalm 127:2: “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for He grants sleep to those He loves.” Saying no to the cultural idolatry of busyness, and instead accepting times of rest—daily rest, weekly Sabbath rest, and seasons of rest—is one of the most important steps of faith we can take. It is a way of trusting God as our provider, and saying “yes” to God’s blessings, while allowing God the time and space to do His transformational work in us. Comments are closed.
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