Daily devotional, October 9, 2023 Unbusy for Christ

 "And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever." 1 John 2:17

Ask anyone nowadays how they are doing, and most likely a good chunk if not more than half of them would say that they are “busy” with everything they do in their lives. Busy had been the default state of the people of this millennia, and most do not see anything wrong with it. Even if it means not having enough time for things that really matter.

While being busy is not a sin, the bible encourages us to set apart time to worship the Lord, and intentionally do good things for other people (“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” MATTHEW 6:33). We should not be too busy chasing things that do not matter in the end as it could just lead to self-destruction as we distance ourselves from the Lord and seek idols. 

The author of the Book of Ecclesiastes called this busyness as: “chasing after the wind.” King Solomon said that making a name for one’s self, competing with others, seeking pleasure and immortality are all vain pursuits (“All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.” ECCLESIASTES 1:8). Unfortunately thousands of years later, humans are still pre-occupied with these things. However, once it hits us that we are almost out of time due to age or illness, we realize what truly matters.

While the bible does not condone idleness (“For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”’ 2 Thessalonians 3:10), it also reminds us to not be too busy to recognize the presence of God. This was clearly illustrated in the story of Martha and Mary, when Jesus visited their home (“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:42).

As adults, what are the things that rob us of time with the Lord, time with our family, and time to rest? It could be too much work, overworking to earn more, pursuit of prestige and power, too many social commitments, mindless social media scrolling, online gaming, or addiction to entertainment?  We should be mindful about these things because running after these could make our lives seem shorter than it really is. One writer once said life is not short, it is just spent on things that do not matter.

At the end of our lives, we should not regret being too busy to have thanked the Lord for every blessing. We should not regret being too busy to have participated in the work for God’s Kingdom. We should have left not just a legacy of wealth and financial security to our children, instead we should leave them with great memories and a godly way of life.

Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Luke 10:38-42, 2 Thessalonians 3:10-13, and Ecclesiastes 1:8-18 to dig deeper on today’s topic.

Reflection Question:Do you consider yourself busy? Is kingdom work and following Jesus part of your everyday to-do list?

Conversation with the Lord: Dear Lord, help me become busy for you. I love you but there are times that I have been preoccupied with things that do not glorify you and help me achieve eternal life with you. Keep me in check my Lord, and remind me that true peace and happiness can never be achieved apart from you. Amen.