Busyness can destroy our identity as a child of God

More thoughts from Running on Empty: A Contemplative Spirituality for Overachievers.

Noise and words and frenzied, hectic schedules dull our senses, closing our ears to His still, small voice and making us numb to His touch. – Charles Swindoll

• Life was filled with doing things for God rather than pursuing intimacy with God. I had perfected busyness but failed miserably at stillness.
• I could talk easily with others about Jesus, but I knew nothing about how to sit still long enough for Jesus to talk with me
• We quickly learn that ceaseless activity earns us tremendous praise
• On the surface you appear like a swan graciously gliding along, but beneath the surface you’re paddling like a man possessed to get ahead

If I had set out to destroy my identity as a beloved child of God, I couldn’t have done better than living in America at the start of the 21st century. The greatest threats I’ve encountered are not the arguments of skeptics or the lure of drink, drugs, or sex. The greatest treats are the constant busyness and frantic hurry that demand my allegiance.

• Living now in a world that never seems to stop for rest, much less slow down, raises my anxiety level. I feel as if I’ve left something undone.

Several decades ago futurists predicted the arrival of the “leisure society,” a world that would demand less work. Testimony before Senate subcommittees in the 1960s forecast that new technology would speed up the work process so much that people would soon be dealing with the “problem” of extra free time. Americans would wonder what to do with all their newfound freedom. Sadly, the futurists were wrong. Greater efficiency has pushed us to use our time for more productivity and more work. Instead of becoming the leisure society, we’ve become the most driven, most stressed-out society in history.