ARE YOU TOO BUSY?
I’ve heard it said that busyness is the new holiness. We think those who are busy must be important and successful. The busier the better! That’s especially true of church leaders because there is more to do than we can possibly get done. We can be busy, but not too busy to allow for interruptions and the needs of people to come first.
When we are too busy we suffer, our family suffers and our people keep away from us because they don’t want to give us even more to do. The worst part is that our bodies and emotions aren’t built to run in overdrive for long before they start to break down. Then we run on empty. Our bodies break down. Our relationships suffer. We become less effective and make mistakes. We are impatient with ourselves and others. Yet we keep going because we are afraid to leave anything undone. It’s a terrible trap to be in. But there are solutions.
Remember Jesus never gives you more to do than He gives time to do it. He expects us to be good stewards with our bodies and health, to meet our family’s needs before the church and to really rest at least one day in seven. When we ae too busy we neglect those things. But God commands us to do them. How do we please God and the expectations of others (or ourselves)? We do what God requires and then we do our ministry in the time that is left. That means we don’t do everything we are doing now, nor everything others may expect of us. The ministry is like a long-distance race, not a short sprint. We must pace ourselves for the long distance.
If you struggle with being too busy, try this. For the next month keep a record of how many hours you spend working for the church. Be honest. This is just for your own use. There will be some weeks that are extra busy, but that shouldn’t happen more than one every month or two. We should try to keep our work week to 40 hours, certainly not go over 50 on a regular basis. When you increase hours your productivity goes down and bad things start to happen. When you are run down physically or emotionally it’s much easier to get discouraged, irritable or impatient.
Usually, the first thing that suffers when we get too busy is our private Bible study and prayer time. God is the first one we cut out. We take His time and use it for less important things. Do you really want to do that? And don’t take the time out of sermon preparation either. Feeding the sheep God’s Word is the first requirement God has for us. It takes time to put together a good sermon. Set time aside and do a good job – and don’t just do it on Saturday night! God, and your people, deserve better than that!
Prioritize your work. Not everything that seems it must be done right away really does. Learn to delegate. Moses had to learn to do that when he was overwhelmed with taking care of the people. He gave some of the work to others. The Apostles chose deacons to carry some of their work load. I know you are thinking that you don’t have anyone to help you, and if there were they wouldn’t do as good a job as you do, so that won’t work for you. If you don’t delegate then drop the work and let it go undone. If people want it done badly enough someone will offer to help. Just don’t assign it to someone who is willing to help but is already overworked at church!
Cut back on unnecessary meetings. Get control of your schedule by saying NO more often. If someone wants you to do something on a night you had scheduled to be with your wife or family, tell them you can’t do it because you are already committed that night. You are!
Even when you prioritize your time and keep your hours to 40 or less, you will still have to deal with compassion fatigue. Carrying the burdens of our people gets wearing. We become weary when immersed in their pain, struggles and difficulties all day. Don’t feel bad when you wear out hearing about their problems and stress. Remember Jesus often left the disciples to go off by Himself, and several times He sent the crowds away to spend time with those closest to Him. He had the same number of hours in a day as you do and He was never rushed or stressed.
Schedule time off each week – for you and for your family. Put it on your calendar and don’t let anything less than an emergency interfere. And please please please turn off your phone when you aren’t working for the church. You aren’t that important that you must be available to everyone 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Set a good example for your children and others by showing them what is most important in life. It may be hard to do this regularly and consistently, but it’s a battle you must win if you want to have a long, fruitful ministry. Be like Jesus. And that is the goal for all of us, right?
Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance…
How would God evaluate your use of time? Would He say you are being a good steward with your health and your family? Are you spending time in prayer and Bible study? Are you willing to make the tough decision to limit the time you put into ministry and put it where God wants it to be?
cto Rev. Dr. JERRY SCHMOYER
Christian Training Organization
Jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
(India, Africa & Spanish Outreach, Spiritual Warfare, Family Ministries, Counseling, World View)
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