Skip to main content

The Business of Busyness

 
Google image


"I have so much to do that I shall spend the first 
three hours in prayer." ~ Martin Luther

 Do you remember that busy signal you would get trying to call someone's landline and they were on the phone?  They were busy talking to someone else and couldn't get your call.

 Busyness.  In the 70s it was a landline busy signal.  It defined the role of a successful woman back in the 80s, evidenced by a full planner.  In the 90s a car phone showed we had to be able to be reached at any time.  The 2000s brought us blackberries to signal we had to electronically manage our lives, and now- well is there a person on the planet that doesn't have a cell phone?



Yet as 'connected' as we are, studies show direct links to loneliness and cell phone addiction, especially among adolescents.  


 But let's be honest, sometimes we just want to scroll and be left alone.  And then suddenly it's an hour or so later.

At first glance, there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with that.  But in business (sometimes busyness) school one of the only things I remember (sad) is the term "opportunity cost" - the loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen.  



 In other words, when we choose to be on our phone, what are we not choosing?  What did we used to do during that time?  For some it was maybe TV, for others reading or conversing.  

Understandably, the phone can be a really useful tool.  We can look up any version of the Bible within seconds, listen to a podcast or sermon, text someone to let them know we are thinking of them.  As a drastic measure we might even use it to call someone.

 But every time we are on it we have to make choices about how we're going to use it.  I'm not always so good about that - the temptation to mindlessly scroll gets the best of me.  

And then I think - "Am I a better person for having spent my time that way?"  I mean, sure Pinterest makes us all more creative, better cooks, and excellent decorators.  I seriously don't know how people lived without it.  (And yet, there are plenty of amazing people living without it.) 

 But social media outlets can wreak havoc on our minds and self-images.  If I'm completely transparent, I will admit that Pinterest can also do that because we all fall short on that DIY thing, don't we?

What's something we can invest our scrolling time in that actually builds us up 100% of the time?  What speaks life into us regardless of where we are, what our circumstances are or our frame of mind?

God's Word speaks to us.  Here's just a few online tools (I'm sure you're using some of these already):







"Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.  Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is." Eph 5:15-17

 We don't necessarily harm ourselves by taking some online downtime, but how do we know what growth we are missing by doing that?    


Not judging intentions here; but boundaries are always healthy.  Is my friend/neighbor/coworker going to benefit by my well-set table and awesome recipe?  Maybe - if I am wanting to make them feel special.  The Lord knows our hearts.  

"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow, and of discerning of thoughts and intentions of the heart." Heb 4:12

Prayer, John Phillip 1859


If you're reading this blog it's because you chose to be online. So thank you; I hope you are encouraged by it and it speaks life into you today. You are so worth it, and have spoken life into me several times.  Obviously, I am writing this blog so I chose to use online.

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and 
good deeds." Heb 10:24

 We don't want to send out a busy signal to others.  We definitely don't want to send one to God.  

✙ Dear Lord, Thank You for never being too busy for us- You promise when we call on You and pray to You that You will listen.  We know that You will hear us. You wait to be gracious to us.  You want us to know You through Jesus.  Help us to make the most of our day today and reveal Yourself to us.  Amen.  



Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 7, 2024 at 8:52 AM

    Such a great reminder!
    I Read somewhere that after your feet hit the floor on the morning,open your Bible and seek God first, before you look at your phone, even talk to your spouse .
    Gretchen

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to Fight Back the Darkness

  Crosswalk image Nothing makes Satan weak in the knees more than when we are on our knees."   ~ Skip Heitzig, Pastor Death.  Killing.  Violence.  What do we do with such heavy hearts in such a dark time? With the knot in our throats and the pit in our stomachs that are weighing on our souls?  When we look around us, nothing on this broken earth can fill our void of sadness and despair.   So we look up to the One who created all things and who alone has the power to bring light and help: "I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.   What does help look like?  When does it come?  How much will we get?  Anger, confusion, bitterness, hostility, helplessness and fear overcome us in different ways and at different times.  We want reasons- we ask, "Why, Lord, why?" We instinctively want a reckoning- someone to pay for the injustice that has happened....
2 comments
Read more

Knocking on Heaven's Door

  "Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal." ~ Troy Ramey, artist My mom knocked on heaven's door this week, and was let in.  She had lived 94 years on this earth- through the Great Depression, tragedy, and a host of health issues- but plodded on with feistiness and a sense of humor. My mourning wasn't the only woe being experienced this week- miscarriages, mental illness, broken family relationships, fear of uncertainty - all woes this broken world has handed out to people I love.  And the prince of this world loves to throw them at us relentlessly.  Lord, how do we endure? How do we fight back the tendency to grow tired of it and let it rob us of our  joy? We ask God to give us the fruit of self-control and guard our minds.    "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."...
2 comments
Read more

Oh The Places You'll Go!

  Reading of "Oh The Places You'll Go  "Congratulations!  Today is your day!  You're off to great places!  You're off and away!  ~ Oh The Places You'll Go by Dr. Suess It's that time of year - hundreds of thousands are graduating from preschool through college and Dr. Seuss wrote a primary book that applies to each one of these levels - it's really quite genius. 🎓  Touching on some of the conceptual highlights, as always we sift them through God's Word... 🎓  "You have brains in your head and feet in your shoes" - "So prepare your minds for actions and exercise self-control.  Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world."  1 Pet 1:13 🎓  "You can steer yourself any direction you choose"; avoid the 'not so good street'.  "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek His will in all you do, and He will s...
1 comment
Read more