Our world today bursts with activity! Opportunities and expectations abound. Knowledge is constantly increasing, and the hustle and bustle of daily life keeps us constantly on the move, just as God prophesied would be the case at the end of this age (Daniel 12:4).
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the pace of life today? Have you ever felt like a slave to your job or your daily grind? Do you sometimes feel that your life is controlling you, and that you have little or no control over your own life?
In short—is your life simply too busy? If so, is it possible that you have become “too busy for God”?
Maybe you have had the thought, “When things slow down, I will finally be able to…”? Do you find yourself wishing you could spend more time with family? That you could spend more time with God? That you could catch up on your Bible study? That you had more time to read Church literature? That you could pray more? That you could set aside some time to fast?
Whatever it is you want to be doing, are you “too busy” to do it?
If so, have you considered one sobering possibility—that in the midst of all your activity, you are neglecting your relationship with the Eternal, and that you may be dangerously close to being too busy for God?
One of Satan’s most subtle deceptions is to keep us perpetually “busy.” He constantly bombards us with distractions that he hopes will ultimately prevent us from entering God’s Kingdom. Sometimes a “distraction” may not be wrong in and of itself, but it can divert our attention from more important matters—and, if we are not careful, can cause us to forfeit our opportunity to become one of the “firstfruits” in God’s soon-coming Kingdom.
Writing to brethren in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul describes spiritual armor that, when used, will allow us to successfully fend off the attacks of Satan and his “spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:11–13). Paul goes on to describe the “fiery darts” Satan uses to destroy the faith of God’s people (v. 16). But these “darts” are not burning arrows or laser-guided missiles! They are dastardly spiritual weapons employed by the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2). They consist of thoughts, feelings, emotions, urges and impulses through which Satan tries to enslave us.
And one of Satan’s most effective and frequently employed “fiery darts” is the lie that we must be forever busy, or always in a hurry! Satan delights in distracting us from the things that really matter, by convincing us that nothing can wait, that everything is as important as everything else, and that we are failing or “missing out” if we are not constantly active.
So, it is important that we as Christians take inventory of our time. One way to do this would be to set aside a few minutes to reflect on the past week. Ask yourself what tasks you completed that were unnecessary, or perhaps even a waste of your time. Consider the opportunities you missed because you spent your time on something unnecessary or unimportant. And as you review your activities of the past week, ask yourself, “Was I too busy for God this week?”
God wants His people to “contend earnestly” for the faith He revealed to us (Jude 3–4). If we spend so much time on the unnecessary and the unimportant that we do not find time for Him, how can we expect to hold on to His Truth? In a world ruled by the “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4), the Father knew we would be faced with difficulty as we try to stay on the straight and narrow way that leads to life (Matthew 7:13–14).
To help us stay close to Him in the midst of our busy lives, God has provided some vital “armor” that we must use. He charges us to put on our salvation as a helmet that will protect our mind and our grasp of His precious Truth (1 Thessalonians 5:8). Through Paul, God admonishes us to control our thoughts (2 Corinthians 10:3–6). Though we have many responsibilities in the world we live in, we need to work to become separate from that world, lest we unwittingly engage in its sins (Revelation 18:4).
How, then, can we avoid Satan’s “busy trap” and be sure that we are never “too busy for God”?
Avoid Society’s Deceptions
God warned, through the prophet Jeremiah, that His people would be led astray by their leaders (Jeremiah 50:6). When God’s Church fell into apostasy after the death of Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, deceitful leaders convinced tens of thousands to turn away from God and worship Him in vain (Mark 7:7). Those who have looked to godly leadership have been spared, but thousands upon thousands have returned eagerly to a deceived world.
Do we look to the world for our examples of leadership and insight? Or do we look to the Bible and the Church? Do we look to society to determine what is right and good, or do we look to God?
As Christians, we live in the world—we must earn a living to feed, clothe and house our families, and we must learn how to interact with others in a Christian way. But we must not let the world become our top priority, such that it draws us away from God’s Truth and His way of life. Ask yourself, “Are my closest friends true Christians? Or do I prefer to spend most of my time with people immersed in the world?” It can be easy, and very tempting, to become caught up in worldly pursuits. But, if we do so, we may soon find our spiritual lives choked by the cares of this world (Luke 8:4–15).
Jesus Christ warned that, even for some in the Church, the cares of the world would choke out and override the truth that is imparted by God Himself (Matthew 13:22). This is a serious matter; God levels a weighty charge against His rebellious people when they choose to pursue their own ways of life and worship instead of what He has plainly outlined (Haggai 1:9).
Is your perspective shaped more by the world or by God’s word? Are you trying to “fit your Christianity” into your activity in the world? Or are you a Christian first, willing to modify and cut back your involvement with the world to maintain your commitment to God? Here are a few signs that you may have fallen into the trap of worldly busyness, and that you may need to re-examine your priorities:
- Do you feel constantly busy, but wonder what you have accomplished for it—why you have nothing to show for all your activity?
- When sunset arrives on Friday evening, does it occur to you that you have done no meaningful Bible study since the previous Sabbath?
- When you arrive at Sabbath services, do you realize that you have had no contact with brethren—by phone, by computer, by card or letter, and maybe not even by prayer—since the previous Sabbath?
- When you look at your busy schedule to see where you could find the time for Bible study, prayer, and visiting with brethren, do you find that no matter how much you may want to do these things, you “don’t have enough time in the day”?
If any of these apply to you, you are probably following the deceptive lead of society, allowing Satan to keep you “too busy for God.” So, what can you do about it?
Control Your Time
God exhorts us to maximize—not to waste—the precious time with which He blesses us (Ephesians 5:16; Colossians 4:5). The Apostle Paul gave us this mandate because he knew that Satan has structured society in such a way that our activities will quickly absorb all our time, if we are not careful. To avoid squandering our time, in order to maximize it for our good, we must first take time for our daily prayer, Bible study and meditation. “But I don’t have time!” some may complain. In fact, the Bible explains that this daily contact with God actually “renews” the one who prays, meditates and studies (2 Corinthians 4:16)! Far from taking our time, contact with God establishes a foundation for effective use of our time as Christians! Connecting with our King and our Life-Giver each day renews us, rejuvenates us and helps us maintain perspective in a world that has turned its eyes away from God.
Regarding the use of time, parents and other adults have a special responsibility to set proper examples for children—and not only in how they schedule their own lives. When parents or guardians “overschedule” the young people in their care—filling their days with so many activities that little or no time is left for prayer and Bible study—what kind of message are they sending?
Control Your Thoughts
Wise use of our time also requires that we control our thoughts. Do you control your thoughts, or do you let others control your thoughts for you (2 Corinthians 10:5)? We must be aware of what we allow into our minds—what we think about, focus upon and contemplate. Our thoughts should be positive and productive, and must reflect God’s nature rather than the nature of the adversary (Philippians 4:8–9).
By learning to control our thoughts and our minds, we are learning to avoid wasting time. God wants us to seek first His kingdom and righteousness (Matthew 6:33). Many of the activities that can fill our days may be putting something else ahead of God, and may be putting Satan’s thoughts into our minds. How much of our God-given time do we waste? Ask yourself the following:
- How much time do I spend watching television or movies? How much of this time is drawing me closer to God? How much is pulling me further from Him? Would I watch the same television shows or movies if Jesus Christ were sitting in the room with me?
- How much time do I spend talking on the phone, chatting with co-workers or visiting Web sites? How much time do I spend playing video games, sending text messages or using “social media” sites like Facebook?
- How much of my “busy” life intrudes into the Sabbath? Are there things I should be doing on the preparation day to make the Sabbath more of a delight? Are there mundane tasks I do on the Sabbath that could just as easily be done before or afterward?
For most of us, if we really examine carefully our time and our priorities, we would have to admit that we could be spending more time in prayer and Bible study. But are we willing to make the commitment to pull back, even just a little bit, from our worldly “busyness” in order to make time for God? If we are “too busy” for prayer and Bible study, we are probably cheating ourselves out of clear resolutions to trials we are now enduring.
In a powerful Living Church News editorial, Dr. Roderick C. Meredith observed: “Satan has organized this world so that—if you are not very careful—you will find yourself watching inane programs on the television, talking aimlessly on the telephone, reading things that do not help you grow toward your Christian goal and doing other things that simply “kill” your time. Satan knows that if he can simply “take your time” then he will end up taking your very life! Your life is your time” (“Give Your Life—Your Time—to God!”, July-August 2008, p. 3).
One way to master time is to schedule our days, rather than just “let things happen.” Sometimes, inevitably, we are caught off-guard by unplanned events. If we have not previously scheduled our time, and set certain unshakable priorities like prayer and Bible study, these most important priorities will be neglected when unforeseen events arise. So, we must prioritize how we spend our precious, Godgiven time.
Maintain Your Focus
As Christians, we must maintain a proper focus. Christ commanded us to seek first both His kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). Notice that this scripture does not say “Seek first your worldly responsibilities. Then, if there is time, seek God’s kingdom and righteousness.” We will not make it into God’s Kingdom based solely on “good intentions” and the self-deception that “God understands how busy I am.” Can you honestly say that you think about God’s kingdom every day? Do you pray about, and consider how to grow in, God’s righteousness every day? What do you spend most of your day doing? What do you spend most of your time thinking about?
Distractions abound in the world around us, as we can understand from the Bible’s account of Christ’s friends Mary and Martha. Shortly before His death, Christ gathered with His disciples. Mary and Martha were both helping to serve the meal, but one of them fell into Satan’s “trap of busyness.” Mary made the most of her opportunity to hear from the Messiah one more time, while Martha was distracted with much serving (Luke 10:38–42).
Martha was showing “outflowing concern” for the dinner guests, lovingly serving them—right? Well, Martha became so “distracted with much serving” that she lost track of the most important aspect of the evening—the opportunity to be taught by Christ—the Teacher come from God! Satan had deceived Martha into believing the lie, “I must be continually busy in order to please Christ.”
Christ was certainly very busy. Yet, as we look at His example, we find that despite His exhausting schedule, He took time each morning to re-focus—to reconnect with the Father (Mark 1:32–35). The Bible also shows us Daniel’s example. Even with the threat of death looming over him, he continued in his practice of praying three times each day (Daniel 6:10)!
If we do not begin each day with prayer and Bible study, and if we are not staying close to God throughout the day with meditation and additional prayer, we can go “off course” spiritually without even realizing it! If we go through life “busy”—focusing energetically on everything except what is most important to God—we will lose our focus and our spiritual trajectory will take us away from God and His kingdom, instead of toward it.
The Good News
We live in a fast-paced world where it is incredibly easy to stay incredibly busy. Distractions abound everywhere, and can easily creep into our lives. If we examine ourselves in the areas mentioned above, most of us can find “reasons” why we are not as close to God as we should be. Indeed, we may have some “very good reasons” as to why we “can’t” study, pray or fast as we should.
So, we need to ask a profound question: “If I am under so much pressure now, when will Satan let up the pressure so that I can focus on these important items?” The answer is obvious: “Never.” Satan wants us to be distracted. This means that in order to maintain our focus on God, we must control our time and make every effort to avoid following the world’s deceptive lead.
As we evaluate our lives, we need to look for areas in which we can “trim the fat”—cutting back on unnecessary and unwholesome activities and obligations that pull us away from God and put us in a position to compromise His Truth and way of life. We must learn to restructure our days so that we always begin with sincere, heartfelt prayer and Bible study—setting the trajectory of each day in the right direction from the beginning.
Satan knows that if he can keep us busily focused on the things of this world, we will easily lose our focus on God, His kingdom and His people. So we must resist him by taking control of our lives and our time—and yielding that control to our Savior, with the help of the Holy Spirit. If we do this, we can look forward to the day, coming soon, when God will welcome us into His eternal family forever.