Busyness Is Not Good Business

 

Today's Flat Tire Ministry Thought is one I have to own. I started this blog back in 2016 with the purpose in mind of spreading hope and inspiring positive growth. I'm not sure if I realized back then that the posts I was writing were actually like a peck on my own shoulder for my personal journey with the God that created me, saved me, forgave me, and guides me each day that I roll out of bed. Over the past six years there is always an application in the week's message that I believe God is asking me if I actually read what I just wrote, and I do believe today's FTM would be more comparable to an uppercut to the chin instead of a peck on the shoulder! Yet as is the case in all situations, the benefit of realizing you have a problem is only beneficial to the point that you make changes in your life that foster real life growth. In my case, we shall see, and for you I pray that God is using me to share messages that can promote positive growth in your life as well. That is my introduction to today's Flat Tire Ministry Thought for the Week, "Busyness Is Not Good Business".

I'd say it would be a safe bet that most of us would acknowledge we are, on an average daily basis, busy. Work schedules, extracurricular activities such as sports, church life, committees, shopping, school programs and activities, and please don't forget just spending time with your spouse, children, grandchildren, friends, or other family members. Add to that social media time and screen time, TV time, reading, exercising, laundry, cooking, cleaning, eating, and completing those project lists. I imagine that the majority of our schedules would appear more similar than not. The difference in one person's schedule to the next would not be found in the list itself, but the amount of time dedicated to one particular area over another. For example: For most people’s work or school takes up 8-10 hours of your day. From there the extracurricular activities section eats up 2-4 hours, and if we follow the guidelines of the health and medical world each of us would get somewhere between 7-8 hours of sleep. On the low side that adds up to seventeen hours of your day, and for the high end of the above averages your day is about shot totaling 22 of the 24 hours available in a day. So how does "busyness" figure into the equation of how we spend our time. 

For me, I'm a multi-tasker. I can throw a load in the wash, one in the dryer, have dinner on the stove, answer some emails from work, and possibly work in some time playing with my grandkids. "Winner-winner- chicken dinner", I get to check off five items from my things to do list. We have to be careful that our list doesn't become our "why", if we are doing things because we want to be productive and get things done, then we may very easily be missing the target of why we should be doing things in the first place. We all have things we were purposed to do, and then we have things that we are obligated to do, and finally we have things we just want to do. Those three categories have clear, distinct lines between each, it is our job to distinguish which ones on any of the three lists fit into what you or I were purposed for when we were born. “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5 

When you and I get so busy doing things we often times shuffle the things we should be doing down the line, and keep doing the things we feel most comfortable doing. Pastor Greg Laurie puts it like this, "Sometimes ‘ Good Things’ can become Bad Things if they keep us from the Best Thing." For example, in and of itself playing golf is not a bad thing. I don't play myself, but I have many great friends who love the sport. Golf is a good thing. It can become a bad thing if, for example, we spend the majority of our extracurricular time playing golf instead of going to watch your son or daughter in the school play. Golf, good thing, watching child in play better thing, playing golf instead of going to your child's play bad thing. How about this one, if you have a report due at the end of the week and you keep procrastinating about starting by spending a couple of hours on social media each night you have just entered the good thing, bad thing, best thing scenario. You can fill in the blanks with so many things and play out the good, bad, best thing template, but let's go for one more together.

Jeremiah 29:11 tells us "... I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." You have a purpose, God created you to fulfill His purpose for your life through service to others. God doesn't make you fulfill that purpose, you have free will to choose what you will do in life. In my life, I believe I was born to serve others through a leadership role. I teach, I coach, I plan, and I lead, what I have to be careful about in each of those lanes of my life is to assure that my service to God is being fulfilled rather than me just doing those things and ignoring God's purpose. Serving others could mean helping them through coaching, or it could mean speaking the truth to a friend about some type of hurtful or harmful behavior that God wants me to speak with them. If I put off speaking with that person in a loving, consulting, mentoring way then I am guilty of turning something good (speaking with the person) into something bad (procrastination) at the sacrifice of what is best (doing God's calling). 

Takeaways and action steps: Stay busy first and foremost. You were called to be busy. Make sure what you are spending your time doing is worthy of the time you are spending doing it. If you aren't sure make time for the best use of time, quiet time with God. Before I leave my house each morning, I meet with my God and listen for what He wants to tell me. Over the years I've heard people say that you will never hear someone say, "Wow, I wish I had spent more time working". On the other hand, you may not hear someone verbally admit that they wish they had spent more time with their family and friends. Yet more than that will you one day say, I wish I had spent more time meeting with God and listening to His instructions for what He wants me to accomplish in this life he gave me to live. 

Words of wisdom, you may be a hard worker, 19 hours of your day are dedicated and scheduled. My suggestion is to start each day seeking God's direction, His focus, and His plan for your life. When we go about doing His business first the rest of our day will take care of itself. Note to self: Follow my own advice!

Coach Carter