Guarding our essential tasks from the invasion of busyness

sovereigngraceministries.org

One of the things that annoys me the most about myself is my inability to be consistent.  I really love to blog but my seminary studies, small group ministries (two that I am leading at the moment), my work at the fire department as well as at the ambulance corp (where I was recently granted the role of chaplain) and my own personal life occupy my time.  Blogging, the gym and sleep seem to the be the first three things to go.  The irony is that those three things help me feel the most focused and "centered."  Though there are more events and tasks stacking on my plate, blogging (like sleep and the gym) is good for me.  I simply need to do it.

I wonder why humans abandon the most essential tasks when the "going gets tough."  In years of doing ministry on college campuses and being a graduate student myself, I know that college students typically sacrifice sleep and healthy eating when workloads are high and stress levels are increased.  When the schedule gets incredibly tight and appointments pile up, fast food quickly replaces healthy eating and gym time is replaced by meeting preparation time.  Oftentimes, poor habits develop and even some dangerous methods of escapism begin.  Students do not sleep, are overly stressed and then drink alcohol in excess to feel relief and escape cognitive and emotional exhaustion.  Essential tasks are eliminated from the schedule, poor habits replace the essential tasks, and some turn to sinful and irresponsible behavior to mollify the consequences of eliminating essential tasks.  Anyone who has been involved in college ministry for more than a semester recognize this awful cycle, though sometimes I wonder if students use "escapism" as their scapegoat for their fleshly and sinful behavior.

This cycle is not limited to college students.  It applies to all of us in one way or another, but it is especially dangerous to Christians.  When Christians get busy, personal quiet time and Bible reading are usually the first things to be thrown out of the schedule.  When busyness invades, personal devotion to communion with God tends to retreat.  Even if the calendar is packed with ministry, we often too occupied with the business of God and not intimately drawn to the person of God.  Surely this does not apply to all, but after years of ministry I can say without hesitation that it applies to many.

I think I am one of the busiest people I know.  I know that there are people who are much busier than me and have much fuller plates than I do, but I am too busy to get to know them.  For me, genuine conversation with God is replaced with half effort "popcorn prayer" in the car on the way to work and Bible reading is replaced by seminary study (which is not the same thing).  Gym and sleep are almost entirely removed from my schedule and overeating becomes my sinful comfort of choice.  Blogging is a thought far from my mind and the phone calls and text messages of friends are usually ignored with the thought of calling them later.

In his book The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis writes of a senior demon (Screwtape) who corresponds with a junior demon (Wormwood).  Screwtape is Wormwood's uncle and is coaching him how to afflict a person, particularly a churched person.  Screwtape refers to God as the "Enemy" and teaches Wormwood how to keep "his subject" far away from genuine intimacy with the enemy.  In the text below, C.S. Lewis describes what I am writing about with eloquence and wonderful execution:

"As long as they're volunteering anyway, an especially useful tactic is to keep them busy. Really busy. It's not hard to do, because they like to think the more work they do, the more spiritual they are. They help us out in this by using guilt to get others to volunteer, and some people will respond by volunteering without thinking it through. It's also easy for us because humans these days like to cram as many activities and responsibilities into their day as possible. Church staff and leaders are prone to super busyness because people will like them more if they get lots done. We're even more fortunate because humans are going through an economic downturn now, so they're often cutting back on staff but expecting the remaining staff to take on extra tasks. And all that rushing around to get everything done gives us lots of opportunities.

The busier they are, the more likely they will get tired and cranky with each other. We can have lots of fun when that happens. Keep them busy, and they don't take time to talk to each other. Even better, keep them too busy to listen to each other. We know things are going our way when other people become an interruption to them. Just keep reminding them that their tasks are much more important than people!

Keep them too busy to plan ahead. The less planning and prioritizing they do, the better. We're especially in good shape when they don't have time to evaluate what they're doing. If their work isn't effective, we don't have nearly as much to worry about.

When they're overly busy at church they often don't even notice that they aren't doing the other things the Enemy wants them to do, such as giving those physical bodies of theirs the rest, healthy food, and exercise it needs. If you work it right, you can even get them to neglect their family and their own time reading the Enemy's book because they're "too busy serving God." That's really fun to see! Keeping them serving at church can also help by keeping them away from people who are in our camp. We certainly don't want Christians influencing our people! 

Thanks, C.S. Lewis, for writing my blog for me.  You've told this true story with excellence.  Friends, we must fight to guard our "essential tasks."  We cannot allow Satan to occupy us with busyness at the expense of our spiritual health.