Too Busy
Luke 6:24-26
"But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets."
In his book Flowers of Thought, Phillips Brooks recounted the story of a man who said that he had no time or space in his life for Jesus or Christianity. Brooks responded, “It is as if the engine had said it had no room for the steam. It is as if the tree said it had no room for the sap. It is as if the ocean said it had no room for the tide. It is as if the man had said he had no room for his soul. It is as if the life had said it had no time to live, when it is life. [Christianity] is not something added to life; it is life. A man is not living without it.”
The modern world is packed with things that can quickly expand to fill every moment of every day. Many of these things are not bad in and of themselves, but anything except Jesus which becomes all-encompassing is being used by the devil to distract us from what God has for us to do. It is easy for our days to become fuller and fuller of things that we feel must be done, only for us to realize that for all of the busyness of our lives, we are not actually accomplishing anything meaningful.
When Martha demanded that Jesus step in to correct her sister for not helping her serve their guests, Jesus did not take her side. Instead, He urged her to reevaluate her priorities. “And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42).
Growth Principle:
No matter how good it is, anything that makes us too busy for God must be laid aside.