June 19, 2024
QUICK THOUGHT The Idol of Busyness
Another experiment, this time talking about the idol of busyness.
Be good and do good.
Chapters
00:08 - Overcoming the Idol of Busyness
06:32 - Embracing Priorities and Letting Go
Transcript
WEBVTT
00:00:08.451 --> 00:00:09.772
Welcome to Balancing the Christian Life.
00:00:09.772 --> 00:00:10.333
Quick Thoughts.
00:00:10.333 --> 00:00:11.714
I'm Dr Kenny Embry.
00:00:11.714 --> 00:00:15.205
Join me as we figure out what it means to live as Christians.
00:00:16.707 --> 00:00:21.285
I just picked up my smartphone to see what's going on In my notifications.
00:00:21.285 --> 00:00:22.467
I've got a few messages.
00:00:22.467 --> 00:00:25.434
Specifically, I've got 49.
00:00:25.434 --> 00:00:28.184
My washing machine said it was out of water.
00:00:28.184 --> 00:00:31.873
I fixed that several hours ago, so that's an old notification.
00:00:31.873 --> 00:00:34.043
Apparently, it's someone's birthday.
00:00:34.945 --> 00:00:37.371
I've saved $2 through one of my gas apps.
00:00:37.371 --> 00:00:41.061
Someone I barely know posted something on LinkedIn.
00:00:41.061 --> 00:00:42.122
The weather forecast is here on LinkedIn.
00:00:42.122 --> 00:00:43.645
The weather forecast is here.
00:00:43.645 --> 00:00:46.366
Costco wants me to spend more money.
00:00:46.366 --> 00:00:50.710
Last night the Reds beat the Pirates, and on and on and on.
00:00:50.710 --> 00:00:53.171
Most of this isn't worth much.
00:00:53.171 --> 00:01:07.683
Yes, at some point I need to go through the phone notifications and tell it what I care about and what I don't, but that's probably not going to be today.
00:01:07.703 --> 00:01:08.364
Picking up my phone, I feel busy.
00:01:08.364 --> 00:01:09.870
There's a lot of activity going on around me and I'm not sure it's helpful.
00:01:09.870 --> 00:01:12.941
There's something comforting about having a long to-do list.
00:01:12.941 --> 00:01:17.971
I would never admit this, but it makes me feel important.
00:01:17.971 --> 00:01:20.942
It also gives me something to complain about.
00:01:21.906 --> 00:01:26.320
I've met several people who always seem to have a crisis going on in their lives.
00:01:26.320 --> 00:01:30.450
They are constantly frantic, frazzled and have a short fuse.
00:01:30.450 --> 00:01:37.349
I often call this crowd people addicted to struggle If they don't have something to worry about.
00:01:37.349 --> 00:01:40.644
Give them a few minutes and they'll find something.
00:01:40.644 --> 00:01:48.200
There's a payoff for being constantly busy and distracted something.
00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:49.424
There's a payoff for being constantly busy and distracted.
00:01:49.444 --> 00:01:50.108
I call this the idol of busyness.
00:01:50.108 --> 00:01:54.781
I readily admit that most of us are busy because we are trying to keep all the spinning plates from falling.
00:01:54.781 --> 00:01:57.989
I've had two or three years now of plate spinning myself.
00:01:57.989 --> 00:02:04.772
But this kind of idolatry is dangerous because it allows you to frame yourself as a victim of your own story.
00:02:04.772 --> 00:02:08.379
Is dangerous because it allows you to frame yourself as a victim of your own story.
00:02:08.379 --> 00:02:20.725
To be fair, many of us are put in situations with few great alternatives, but embracing victimhood is almost always a losing strategy because it puts your decision-making ability in someone else's hands.
00:02:20.725 --> 00:02:25.335
It renders you powerless, which is never a good place to be.
00:02:25.335 --> 00:02:30.331
If only the world would change, you'd have all your problems fixed.
00:02:30.331 --> 00:02:35.771
Well, let's assume for a moment the world isn't changing.
00:02:35.771 --> 00:02:50.425
Let's assume you have decisions you can make to make things better, if not perfect, and let's assume for a moment maybe God has a vested interest in helping you rather than hurting you.
00:02:50.425 --> 00:02:57.181
So how can we be more productive with the idol of busyness?
00:02:57.181 --> 00:03:01.106
First, cultivate gratitude.
00:03:02.308 --> 00:03:06.014
I've heard a chorus of criticism about smartphones and social media.
00:03:06.014 --> 00:03:10.390
More recently, I've heard a lot of hang-wringing about artificial intelligence.
00:03:10.390 --> 00:03:20.414
If we could only get back to Mayberry, where all the gossip happened at Floyd's Barbershop and Barney was only allowed one bullet in his chest pocket, wouldn't that be better?
00:03:20.414 --> 00:03:26.769
Well, unfortunately that's fiction, and it was fiction in the 1960s as well.
00:03:26.769 --> 00:03:32.449
But more importantly, think about the things that genuinely make life better.
00:03:32.449 --> 00:03:50.633
You have a device in your pocket that connects you with almost everyone on earth, gives you access to almost all information you could ever want, and even tells you when you missed your turn and reroutes you in seconds.
00:03:52.156 --> 00:04:08.105
But let's put your phone away for a moment and marvel at just your bathroom, where you have something that takes care of your sewage, gives you hot water on demand and allows you to smell clean all day long.
00:04:08.105 --> 00:04:26.449
Then think for a moment about how all of that would be different 100 years ago, when your sewage was your problem, where your hot water was a luxury, where you had soap, because you made soap or clean water depended on you.
00:04:26.449 --> 00:04:39.714
I'm not going to call these things blessings, but I will say I'm grateful we figured these things out and I didn't have to depend on my ingenuity to make myself sanitary.
00:04:39.714 --> 00:04:42.745
All of these things come at prices.
00:04:42.745 --> 00:04:53.175
Smartphones, indoor plumbing and even the poisonous, highly processed foods we sometimes eat are all modern miracles of convenience and comfort.
00:04:53.175 --> 00:05:03.502
By the way, all of them have downsides and none of them should be used without some attention to what's good and what's bad.
00:05:03.502 --> 00:05:09.603
But please don't believe for a moment that someone is holding a gun to your head to eat Lucky Charms.
00:05:09.603 --> 00:05:15.940
You are the person who chooses to open the Facebook app or turn on the hot water.
00:05:15.940 --> 00:05:28.117
You don't have to and you can always choose not to, but the generation before you never had the option.
00:05:28.117 --> 00:05:37.932
Communication was harder, Finding information was harder, Living was harder.
00:05:37.932 --> 00:05:41.838
You don't have to, and that's something that should make you grateful.
00:05:41.838 --> 00:05:49.336
Second, if you want to overcome the idol of busyness, then ask God to help you concentrate.
00:05:50.377 --> 00:05:52.540
There are two verses I think about a lot.
00:05:52.540 --> 00:05:55.444
One is in the 46th Psalm.
00:05:55.444 --> 00:06:06.269
Yes, I'm taking it out of context a little, but I would contend it still has the same message Be still and know that I am God.
00:06:06.269 --> 00:06:11.959
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
00:06:11.959 --> 00:06:25.865
To paraphrase this verse, I think it says no matter how much you do, no matter how important you think you are, there's nothing you can do more important than God.
00:06:25.865 --> 00:06:27.369
So settle down.
00:06:27.369 --> 00:06:31.560
You aren't that important and that's a very good thing.
00:06:32.663 --> 00:06:35.286
The other verse is in the first chapter of Mark.
00:06:35.286 --> 00:06:47.708
It says Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place where he prayed.
00:06:47.708 --> 00:06:55.569
Jesus found a place to concentrate on what's truly important and what isn't.
00:06:55.569 --> 00:07:10.507
I don't do that and that's my mistake, which leads me to this last recommendation Learn to cut stuff out and stop worrying about what other people think.
00:07:10.507 --> 00:07:16.708
There's a true difference between being busy and making things better.
00:07:16.708 --> 00:07:22.747
If you give yourself some time to think, you can figure that out.
00:07:24.055 --> 00:07:27.906
When you're young, you worry about the fear of missing out, or FOMO.
00:07:27.906 --> 00:07:33.086
As you get older, you see the blessing of missing out.
00:07:33.086 --> 00:07:37.079
Let's take this to God, the blessing of missing out.
00:07:37.079 --> 00:07:37.540
Let's take this to God.
00:07:37.540 --> 00:07:42.228
Lord, help us to lose ourselves and find you.
00:07:42.228 --> 00:07:54.375
Help us to see ourselves as truly insignificant, so we can better see how important you are.
00:07:54.375 --> 00:07:58.420
You love us.
00:07:58.420 --> 00:07:59.608
You have promised to take care of us.
00:07:59.608 --> 00:08:07.093
Help us to trust that, In the name of our King, Amen.
00:08:07.093 --> 00:08:09.244
Okay, so now go out and be good and do good.
00:00:08.451 --> 00:00:09.772
00:00:09.772 --> 00:00:10.333
00:00:10.333 --> 00:00:11.714
00:00:11.714 --> 00:00:15.205
00:00:16.707 --> 00:00:21.285
00:00:21.285 --> 00:00:22.467
00:00:22.467 --> 00:00:25.434
00:00:25.434 --> 00:00:28.184
00:00:28.184 --> 00:00:31.873
00:00:31.873 --> 00:00:34.043
00:00:34.945 --> 00:00:37.371
00:00:37.371 --> 00:00:41.061
00:00:41.061 --> 00:00:42.122
00:00:42.122 --> 00:00:43.645
00:00:43.645 --> 00:00:46.366
00:00:46.366 --> 00:00:50.710
00:00:50.710 --> 00:00:53.171
00:00:53.171 --> 00:01:07.683
00:01:07.703 --> 00:01:08.364
00:01:08.364 --> 00:01:09.870
00:01:09.870 --> 00:01:12.941
00:01:12.941 --> 00:01:17.971
00:01:17.971 --> 00:01:20.942
00:01:21.906 --> 00:01:26.320
00:01:26.320 --> 00:01:30.450
00:01:30.450 --> 00:01:37.349
00:01:37.349 --> 00:01:40.644
00:01:40.644 --> 00:01:48.200
00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:49.424
00:01:49.444 --> 00:01:50.108
00:01:50.108 --> 00:01:54.781
00:01:54.781 --> 00:01:57.989
00:01:57.989 --> 00:02:04.772
00:02:04.772 --> 00:02:08.379
00:02:08.379 --> 00:02:20.725
00:02:20.725 --> 00:02:25.335
00:02:25.335 --> 00:02:30.331
00:02:30.331 --> 00:02:35.771
00:02:35.771 --> 00:02:50.425
00:02:50.425 --> 00:02:57.181
00:02:57.181 --> 00:03:01.106
00:03:02.308 --> 00:03:06.014
00:03:06.014 --> 00:03:10.390
00:03:10.390 --> 00:03:20.414
00:03:20.414 --> 00:03:26.769
00:03:26.769 --> 00:03:32.449
00:03:32.449 --> 00:03:50.633
00:03:52.156 --> 00:04:08.105
00:04:08.105 --> 00:04:26.449
00:04:26.449 --> 00:04:39.714
00:04:39.714 --> 00:04:42.745
00:04:42.745 --> 00:04:53.175
00:04:53.175 --> 00:05:03.502
00:05:03.502 --> 00:05:09.603
00:05:09.603 --> 00:05:15.940
00:05:15.940 --> 00:05:28.117
00:05:28.117 --> 00:05:37.932
00:05:37.932 --> 00:05:41.838
00:05:41.838 --> 00:05:49.336
00:05:50.377 --> 00:05:52.540
00:05:52.540 --> 00:05:55.444
00:05:55.444 --> 00:06:06.269
00:06:06.269 --> 00:06:11.959
00:06:11.959 --> 00:06:25.865
00:06:25.865 --> 00:06:27.369
00:06:27.369 --> 00:06:31.560
00:06:32.663 --> 00:06:35.286
00:06:35.286 --> 00:06:47.708
00:06:47.708 --> 00:06:55.569
00:06:55.569 --> 00:07:10.507
00:07:10.507 --> 00:07:16.708
00:07:16.708 --> 00:07:22.747
00:07:24.055 --> 00:07:27.906
00:07:27.906 --> 00:07:33.086
00:07:33.086 --> 00:07:37.079
00:07:37.079 --> 00:07:37.540
00:07:37.540 --> 00:07:42.228
00:07:42.228 --> 00:07:54.375
00:07:54.375 --> 00:07:58.420
00:07:58.420 --> 00:07:59.608
00:07:59.608 --> 00:08:07.093
00:08:07.093 --> 00:08:09.244
Listen On
Support On
