Being Busy--is it a good thing?

Today's teaching at church was done by our youth pastor. He was teaching in Acts and talking about true community. He expressed his belief that busyness is in direct conflict with being able to build community.

I agree.

I think we lack relationships that are deep because we're too busy to spend the amount of time it takes to develop them. You can't see someone for an hour a week and expect to know them well.

But, the issue of busyness is a problem in general, not just when looking at community and relationships.

Several years ago I came to realize that I wore busyness like a badge of honor. I was proud of my busy schedule. It was as if I thought being busy meant I was important, doing good things, and being a more contributing members of society.

None of that could be farther from the truth. It wasn't an honor to be busy. It was a burden. Being busy means you have little time to relax and rest. God told us to rest. He even set it as an example for us by resting on day 7 of creation!

Being busy made me feel important. What a crock! Often times, we are incredibly busy because we are leading too many projects or are involved in a variety of activities. When I'm involved in too many things, I can't give proper attention to any of them! I can't develop true relationships with people in those various activities because I only have a limited amount of time to give them.

Not being busy means I have to say no. I'm not the greatest at this, but I'm learning. I have to remember that my saying no to one thing is like saying yes to another. Sometimes I say no to something because I want to say yes to being a better wife, spending more time with my kids, or investing in friendships I already have established.

My December was busy. Part of it was just the season...everyone wants to have a Christmas party--including me! We had school activities, family visiting, ministry functions, church events. It was all good stuff. I made sure to limit some things to make room for the busyness of the season. But, now that we're getting ready to start back into our "normal" routine, I'm trying to keep my calendar less cluttered.

I don't want to think of being busy as a badge of honor. I want to wear peace. I want to walk a little slower. I want to do a few things well instead of many things mediocre.

How do you view busyness? Has it been a problem for you?