"I do not mean to make an idol of health, but it does seem to me that at least some of us have made an idol of exhaustion. The only time we know we have done enough is when we are running on empty and when the ones we love most are the ones we see the least. When we lie down to sleep at night, we offer our full appointment calendars to God in lieu of prayer, believing that God—who is as busy as we are—will surely understand."

—Barbara Brown Taylor, explaining why she is taking a year of Jubilee in 2000, not accepting any out of town speaking engagements and working only 40 hours a week in ministry. "Divine Subtraction, in The Christian Century, 11/3/99, p. 3. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson

Why are we so restless? Why must every moment of our days be filled with ceaseless activities? We’ve replaced our porch swings with instant messaging, pagers and cell phones. We rush from here to there, with no apparent destination. We’re in a hurry. We’re busy.

The people of Ridgewood New Jersey recently said “Enough!” With massive coordination, they instituted a “Family Night.” There were no church activities. No Soccer games. No homework. Nothing. Nothing, that is, except time and family.

“This was terribly exciting [news],” writes Anna Quindlen, “until I realized that this was not one night a week, but one single night.”

Why would a town doing nothing for just one night catch the attention of a columnist for a national publication? Because doing nothing is a big deal in our super-sized, jammed packed, over scheduled society. Too bad the people of the New Jersey suburb only did it for one night. Too bad our town hasn’t done it at all. But why wait for our civic leaders to goad us into doing what we already know we should.

At least one day a week do something that will revolutionize your family and personal life. Do nothing.

In his book, Satisfy your Soul, Bruce Demarest writes, “For many of us, the problem stems from the fact that we have forfeited God in the busyness of life’s activities-even church work. A recent study of two dozen conservative Christians who left the church found that while most were actively involved in church programs, they were starving on the inside.”

--Satisfy your Soul, 49. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson

Psalm 46:10 (KJV) “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”

For more information on Satisfy your Soul go to: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1576831302/fm082-20

In his book, Satisfy your Soul, Bruce Demarest writes, “When our lies feel mechanical and driven, we are effectively closed to the grace of God. We may busily serve God but, ironically, the God we serve becomes a stranger. Our lives and Christian service echo with a haunting emptiness.”

In Seeking the Face of God, Gary Thomas writes, “The sin many of us fall into s not that we shake our fists at God and defy Him to His face; that is the sin of unbelievers. Our sin is that we passively repel against God, filling our lives with so much noise and busyness that God’s voice cannot, or will not, penetrate.”

Psalm 46:10 (HCSB) “Stop [your fighting]—and know that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”

In Seeking the Face of God, Gary Thomas writes, “A drug addict cannot expect to give up drugs without paying the price of withdrawal. We who have been drugged by diversions cannot expect to enter the quiet without a struggle. Our souls will roar for diversion, the fix that saves us from God’s presence.”

--Seeking the Face of God, 107. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson

Psalm 46:10 (MSG) "Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything."

For more information on Seeking the Face of God go to: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0736900195/fm082-20

In his book, Satisfy your Soul, Bruce Demarest writes, “We schedule ourselves to the eyebrows and leave little time for reflection on matters of spiritual significance. The U.S. military, which lives euphemisms, calls this ‘task saturation.’”

--Satisfy your Soul, 125. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson

Psalm 46:10 (ASV) “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

For more information on Satisfy your Soul go to: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1576831302/fm082-20

In his book, Satisfy your Soul, Bruce Demarest writes, “Every one of us must make a strategic decision to break the cycle of perpetual busyness and learn how to quiet our souls before the Lord. We need to move from being externally driven performance machines to internally motivated intimates of God.”

--Satisfy your Soul, 151. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson

Psalm 46:1 (MSG) “God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him.”

For more information on Satisfy your Soul go to: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1576831302/fm082-20

In his book, Satisfy your Soul, Bruce Demarest writes, “Some of us keep unduly busy to boost our sagging egos, to ‘prove’ our worth, or to avoid aspects of our selves to painful to confront.”

Our worth is not determined by what we do, but by whose we are.
1 Corinthians 6:20 (ASV) “for ye were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body.”

In Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a relentless God, Francis Chan writes “The priests of Malachi’s day thought their sacrifices were sufficient. They had spotless animals but chose to keep those for themselves and give their less desirable animals to God. They assumed God was pleased because they had sacrificed something.

Leftovers are not merely inadequate; from God’s point of view (and lest we forget, His is the only one who matters), they’re evil. Let’s stop calling it ‘a busy schedule’ or ‘bills’ or ‘forgetfulness.’ It’s called evil.”

--Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a relentless God, P. 91-92. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson

Malachi 1:8 (KJV) “And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.”

In the book, Soul Custody, author Steven Smith makes the case that believers need to choose to move toward a less busy and more disciplined life. Smith writes, ”Every single person who feels more dead than alive, more tired than energized, more burned-out than motivated, more unfulfilled than thriving is a soul in need – a soul who needs to be cared for. The Chinese have two characters for the English word busyness, which they define as “heart annihilation.” We’re killing ourselves with all of our busy, busy, busy. One of the reasons for the overwhelming amount of annihilation around us and in us is that the sin of busyness is very subtle. It’s a subtle sin because busyness is validated, applauded, and affirmed everywhere – and sometimes especially among Christians.”

Matthew 16:25-26 (CEV) If you want to save your life, you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find it. (26) What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself? What would you give to get back your soul?

In Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives, Richard Swenson writes: “In 1879, Thomas Edison produced the first electric light. If the clock broke up the day, the light bulb broke up the night. Illuminati was flushed with its presumed victory over yet another of nature's limitations. Yet all victories have their associated costs. The clock and the light-they gifted us with time, then they stole it away.”

Maybe we would be wise to find the off switch and regain the nights—and our sanity.

Matthew 11:29 (CEV) “Take the yoke I give you. Put it on your shoulders and learn from me. I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest.”

In Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives, Richard Swenson writes: “Even when progress does give us "leisure," the leisure is not leisurely. Instead, it is jammed with multi-tasking actions and expectations: watching TV while surfing the web while checking e-mail while eating a hamburger while listening to the phone ring while conversing with the family.”

Hebrews 4:9 (CEV)9 But God has promised us a Sabbath when we will rest, even though it has not yet come.

In Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives, Richard Swenson writes: “The marginless lifestyle and its resultant chronic time pressure are particularly devastating to Our relationships: to self, to family, to others, to God.”

Ephesians 4:32 (CEV) “Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.”

In Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives, Richard Swenson writes: “Busyness is not a synonym for kingdom work-it is only busyness.”

Psalm 46:10 (KJV) “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”

In Why Johnny Can’t Preach: The Media Have Shaped the Messengers. T. David Gordon writes, “Every technological development has a cost that is well beyond what is expended in research and development. Every technological development has an opportunity cost because once we spend even part of our day using a technology we once did not use, some of the things we once did with our time we no longer do.”

- Why Johnny Can’t Preach, Kindle Loc. 563-65 61 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson

Psalm 46:10 (HCSB) “Stop [your fighting]—and know that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.”

In Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: Unleash A Revolution In Your Life in Christ, Peter Scazzero writes, “For years I learned from leaders and consultants around the country how to lead a large, growing church. None of the training I received concerned itself with knowing myself. The problem was that running a large organization, overseeing budgets, and managing staff and deadlines and endless to-do lists crushed me. I was busy, very busy, and dying on the inside.”

--Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: Unleash A Revolution In Your Life in Christ (Kindle Locations 931-934). Illustration by Jim L. Wilson

Michael McDowell, a popular NASCAR driver took some time away from the social media before the busy racing began. He told his supporters on Facebook and Twitter that he would refrain from using social networking sites for thirty days as part of what he called a “social media fast.” McDowell says he got the idea while attending a Bible study dealing with the distractions of life. He remembered that his young son had asked him to play while he was busy updating his status, and realized that his family was more important. Too help him avoid temptation; McDowell deleted social media apps from his phone. He says although he won’t post any personal messages, daily Bible verses will continue to be automatically posted to his accounts during the 30 days off. He added, “For me, it’s like it’s become almost an addiction. It’s something you almost have to do; you want to see what people are saying and you want to keep your fans up to date and you want to be engaged, but you don’t realize how much time it actually takes.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Bible Study Leads NASCAR Driver to Take 'Social Media Fast', http://www.christainpost.com/news/bible-study-leads-nascar-driver-to-take-social-media-fast-88068, Accessed January 14, 2013.

Ephesians 5:15-16 (NIV) (15) Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, (16) making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

Are you too busy? Do you need more time to get everything done? NASA is planning to help you a little. They have announced an extension to the year. On New Year’s Eve, December 2016, a “leap second” will be added to the world’s official clocks at 11:59:59 effectively making this year 1 second longer than normal. This adjustment is meant to keep atomic clocks in sync with the Earth’s rotation.

While you will not get a lot of benefit from the extra second, this is a good time to reorder priorities to avoid wasting time on those things that may seem urgent but are not important. —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

Philippians 4:8–9 (HCSB)“Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise—dwell on these things. ⁹ Do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. “

In his article, “The power of doing nothing at all,” Aytekin Tank writes, “We’ve grown to subconsciously measure a person’s worth based off how many hours they work, how much is on their plate and put simply — whether or not they are running around like a chicken with their head cut off.”

A 2017 New York Post article had the following headline: “Americans check their phones 80 times a day.”

https://nypost.com/2017/11/08/americans-check-their-phones-80-times-a-day-study/

A 2021 PR Newswire headline offered updated information, “Americans Check Their Phones 96 Times a Day.”

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/americans-check-their-phones-96-times-a-day-300962643.html

Dependence on our smartphones is increasing. Maybe it would be a good idea to unplug every now and then and enjoy the here and now with the people present in the room with us.

For we hear that there are some among you who are idle. They are not busy but busybodies.