The latest article I wrote for Epistole, the VCF newsletter, about busyness. Hope you're not too busy to read it....

Busyness- a new perspective

Often when I ask university friends how they are, they will say, “Busy”, especially those who are have responsibilities in CF or church.

Our Singaporean culture is one that is very fast-paced. I asked a friend about her experience during her 5 month exchange in New Zealand and the first word she uttered was, “Slow”. We are so used to busy lives. People like to call it “productivity” or “making the best use of our time”. Whatever the euphemism, people these days are exceedingly busy.

We have all been warned about busyness- that our relationship with God will suffer from lack of time. We are taught to get our priorities right, top of the list being God and serving Him. All this is good and well. Yet something is still amiss. Why is it that we still feel 24 hours a day is just not enough, and people are so exhausted? I remember for a time one of my favourite verses was Matthew 11:28- “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Does this verse strike a chord with your heart?

And worse still, why do people feel unfulfilled, like life is a chore, a burden? Surely this was not the fullness of life that Jesus promised?

I believe that there are 2 levels of busyness. First, the busyness of time- in one day we have many things to do, with hardly any time for rest or leisure. To fix this problem we are taught the 2 golden words- time management. Maximize your time, multi-task effectively, prioritise and plan. We become more efficient- more tasks completed in less time.

But people are still busy and exhausted! Which leads me to the second, more subtle level- the busyness of mind. Looking back, I realize there were times when I was relatively free, yet in my mind I felt very busy. You see, the 24 hours in a day is an empty framework that we fill with activities accordingly- and so is our mind. And it is here that the real battle is fought.

The mind tells us what is important to us, after processing both knowledge and emotions. I suspect that we are so busy firstly because in their mind, we are flooded. There are so many things important to us that no matter how good our time management skills are, we will never have enough time because of the sheer number of things we want to do.

And leading on from there, we feel unfulfilled in our lives because in our minds, we are not even certain of what we really want and what the most important thing to us is. We have a whole list of things that all seem very worthwhile. Studying hard for exams, serving in church or campus, spending time with friends and family, serving the community, etc. Many others have told us about how meaningful they are. But in our minds we are not certain about what God is really calling us to and what the true deep desires of our hearts are. We are like busy little ants, carrying out tasks we have been given without any deep conviction about why we are doing them.

When we do our quiet time, for example, we do it just as another item on a checklist, instead of seeking to connect with our Master and drink deeply from Him. It is no wonder that in our lives we lack the free-flowing joy and strength that He offers.

Gordon McDonald, in his book Ordering Your Private World, talks about the traditional method of arranging our life- a pyramid, with God at the top. However he says that is faulty because it is like compartmentalizing our lives, so that God is left out of the other parts of our lives. He suggests a new model- a circle- with God in the centre, and everything else radiating from Him.

That is the solution for the busyness of the mind. In our minds we must first decide that the most important thing in life is God. Not serving God, but God Himself. Jesus said,“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5. The key word is abide. We must maintain that vital connection and relationship with our Master, all through the day.

Next, we must understand that God cannot be compartmentalized. He wants to be the centre of our life, the reason why we live, not just a mere part independent from all the rest. Paul says to the Colossians,

“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Col. 3:17

This has great implications- in every thing we do, God must be the centre, and so we must ask- do You want me to do this? Is this part of Your will for me? How do you want me to do it? And that is why our personal, living relationship with God is so crucial. Without it we are blind mice, stumbling through life.

There are many things in life that seem outwardly good, but may not be what God wants for us. The apostle Paul spent the first part of his life achieving what he and his peers believed was great and godly, only to find later he was on the wrong track from God. Read Philippians 3:5-6 and Galatians 1:13-14 for a full description. He wrote,

“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss to Christ. Yet indeed I count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ…”
Phil 3:7-8

He writes in Colossians, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.” Col. 3:23. There is only one person who should decide for us what we should be doing- God Himself.

And once put all this into practice, our lives become so joyful because every minute, irregardless of what we are doing, becomes part of our relationship with Him. Even in the smallest things, like having our lunch, we can be joyful (is that not why we say grace?).

Lastly, we must understand the importance of rest. Our culture grooms us into robots who can complete immense amounts of work with minimum rest. Sometimes we even get the idea that rest is wrong. But our God believed in rest. Did He really need to tell us about Him resting on the seventh day? The story would have ended perfectly on the sixth. After all, why would our omnipotent God need rest? But no, He specifically designed a day for rest.

Resting is more than just sleep; and it means different things for different people. For some it means lazing around at home and doing nothing; for others it means taking a long run, or being with friends. My doctor friend put it this way, “It is so important for humans to just sit back and do nothing.” Jesus in His ministry would turn away multitudes to go up to a mountain and pray. He took time to rest and recharge in His Father’s presence.

Exams are coming and there is so much work to do. And we all know that it does not get any better when working life starts. Let us take stock now, and heed the Psalmist’s warning, “Surely every man walks about like a shadow; surely they busy themselves in vain..” Psa 39:6.