Practicing Sabbath in an Age of BusynessSample

Pruning Overgrown Activity Branches

Over the last few days, we have been on a journey together to uncover the why and the what behind our current state of busyness. So far, we have considered two lies that the enemy of our souls is hard at work trying to convince us are true.

• Our value as a person is directly proportional to the knowledge and expertise we have obtained throughout our lives.
• Our value as a person is directly proportional to how productive and efficient we are with the work we have been given to do.

Today, we will consider one final lie:

Lie #3: Our value as a person is directly proportional to the activities we say yes to for ourselves and our families.

Community is often born out of a common interest. Whether it is the activities our kids are involved in or the hobbies that we pursue, both can be catalysts for God to turn strangers into friends. Coming together as a community around a common interest often provides an ideal environment for God to teach us valuable life lessons about teamwork, celebrating others, and the value of doing the hard thing.

Author Jean Fleming provides an excellent illustration of how the activities we say yes to can quickly multiply, leading to a life of busyness. She describes her life as a tree, with the trunk representing her relationship with Christ. The trunk gives life to the limbs, representing the core priorities God has given her - family, work, ministry, and personal growth. Finally, the branches represent the ever-expanding list of activities. "Even without special care, activity branches multiply. Soon, the profusion of branches becomes more prominent than the trunk and limbs. When this happens, I feel trapped, frustrated, and empty. Why? Because my life is shaped and drained by activities that have lost their pertinence to Christ."

So, how do we know if the branches of our life that represent the many activities we have said yes to have given birth to a life of busyness that is distracting us from what really matters?

Keeping the Sabbath provides us with a regular rhythm for stepping back from our daily lives to see which activity branches need to be pruned. God's gift of Sabbath rest has a way of slowing down our hurried pace of life so that our eyes might be open to seeing what we often can't see amongst the busyness of life (Psalms 119:18). If we are willing to step into the Sabbath rest that God promises His people, He will be faithful to show us if we have crossed the line from enjoying activities that foster community to a life of busyness where we feel trapped and empty.

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