Greg McKeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less- “Only once you give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all, to stop saying yes to everyone, can you make your highest contribution towards the things that really matter.”

Ever noticed how the word “busy” can almost be worn as a badge of significance, a mark of importance, a sign of studliness? It’s as if the busier a person is, the more important they are, the more significance they have in the world, the more impressiveness they are to their peers. It’s almost as if they’re in a race to squeeze more out of life then the next guy.

Anymore when I hear the word busy, it immediately throws up warning flares.

First I’m thinking: Who isn’t busy?

Second: Why is that their default response?
Why is this person so busy?
Is it a happy busy? A joy busy?
A burden filled busy?
A heavy busy?
A status busy?

Have we become so pre-programmed in our society that being busy makes us sound important? Or does the style and tone of my encounter make them feel as though they must create an automatic defense mechanism?

If they are a business owner, I’m ruminating on all the other possibilities: control-freak and inability to delegate, lack of leaders on the team, lack of wise counsel, too many meetings, unfocused, lack clarity of vision, etc…

I once heard someone say that if an adversary wants to penetrate their enemie’s defenses, they should hope that that enemy gets busy … distracted … disorganized … and un-focused… and ultimately let their guard down so that the Predator can make its way in with very little resistance.

Is that what happens in our lives when we get busy? Do we let our defense down? Is the enemy able to walk right in and set up camp?

Are we even aware of who our enemy is? Am I? Do I take time to create margin and white space in my life to ensure that my defense mechanisms are on full alert against the enemy? Do I acknowledge that the enemy even exists?

If you are currently wearing the busy badge, take a little moment for self-reflection:
Am I properly guarding and protecting my turf? My soul? My heart?

A timeless nugget of wisdom from King Solomon encourages us to “guard our hearts above all else, for it is the wellspring of life.” Am I guarding my heart? My life? My family? My home? My business? Or is my schedule and life so busy that the defenses are down? Is busy in your life enabling your heart to “Be Under Satan’s Yolk?”

Better be careful how you use the word BUSY … and how that word truly applies in our life. The enemy prowls!

To a Higher Standard!!