I have been the King of busy.
I never thought of myself as the workaholic type. I was way too sociable for that!
Yet, lo & behold, I found myself as a 22 year old single male, neck deep in 17 hour days, 6 days a week (thanks to my solid conviction that Christians didn’t work Sundays I had one day off from that work at least).
But that wasn’t all…
Add to that 3 church services a week, plus adult bible hour before Sunday service. As well as bible study during the week and possibly an outreach/concert on a Saturday night… Oh, and a band practice somewhere in the mix of all that…
I get worn out just thinking about it these days!
I remember the moment of realisation (at least on the job front) that I was over my head. One night my friends actually talked me into getting out on a Friday night & going Ten Pin Bowling in the neighbouring city. I was like, “Wow! There is a world out here, with people & fun & life &… Wow!”
I went straight to my boss the next chance I had and told him I could only work til 5pm and no Saturday afternoons ( I was actually still an apprentice at this stage so it was a big thing to speak up).
So what did I do with all the new-found time? I got busier with ‘the things of God’. Surely that’s the right place to spend your time?
Yes. And no. Depending on your circumstance…
Towards the end of my apprenticeship, at age 23, I married a good church girl and carried on with life the way I knew it.
Church services, concerts, outreach, prayer meetings, bible studies, men’s meetings, rallies, revival meetings, conferences…
Ten years down the road my marriage fell apart. And yes, there were definitely other factors involved in that… But I know my over-commitment played a big part and I feel the pain of that.
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Years on from that now, I am happily remarried to a wonderful Christian woman,
& a fresh view on faith & commitment.
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You see, a renewed vitality in your Christian walk, doesn’t mean that you have to be somewhere, doing something for someone every minute of every day. I thought I was doing the right thing by being busy, because of what I was busy with… The truth was, I was busy with a ‘good thing’, but not the right thing.
I heard a great sermon once called, ‘What time is it?’ The whole point of the message was to ask yourself, ‘What time is it in my life, right now?’ Are you in school? – It’s time to study. Have you started a new job? – It’s time to work hard at it. Are you married? – It’s time to invest in your marriage… add your own scenario…
Give your life to relationship.
The ones that matter. Relationship with God through His son Jesus. Relationship with other members of your church, and bless them as the scripture instructs us to…
“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.”