Too High A Cost

Today I talked with someone I knew who was really busy.   I could tell by the way he conversed with me.  He had important things to take care of.  Too busy to spend much time with me, I realized.  So, I quickly finished the conversation so I could allow him to get on to what he needed to get done. (And had I walked a day in his shoes, perhaps I would understand why this was so!)

It made me feel… unimportant and…it made me feel little.

I wondered if I ever make others feel similar. Do I ever get so ‘into’ the important jobs that I’m doing that I inadvertently give the message that ‘you’re not important’? (Kind of like Noah, “Gotta run, still have that roof to put on the ark. It might start raining any day now…”  Who could argue with the importance of that task!!?)

I hate that thought; as I’m sure the person who I talked would too. It’s not intentional , but an unintended byproduct of being---dare I suggest?---too busy, perhaps preoccupied with one’s tasks.)

We sometimes call this mindset a ‘workaholic’.

I’m not talking merely about the stereotypical businessman who spends all his time working. Women can be ‘workaholic’ types, too.

R     Red flags to consider:

1. People don’t want to bother you because you’re ‘too busy’
2. You don’t have time to chat with a person as you go about your day; too much to get done
3. You miss the first rays of Springtime sun; the beauty of winter’s fallen snow; the crisp smell of autumn; the hum of a summer’s day calm (And with each of these is also missed  the opportunity to recognize and praise God, their creator).
4. Your kids grow up and you remember the work it took but not the kisses you enjoyed, the songs you sang, the stories you heard, the bugs you investigated, the late-night talk w/your teen, etc.
5. Music is absent from (or inconsequential to) your world.
6. A Bible study (workbook preferred) is your primary method of communion with God.
7. You haven’t had a friend over just to visit (pre-planned, no secondary ‘work’ goal included) in weeks.
8. Your ‘to do’ list is more important than your address book or prayer journal.
9. You regularly stay up past a wise bedtime to get something else done; or conversely, you arise early to get another job done.  Later, you wonder why you are crabby or why those dark circles won’t go away.
10. You are immediately enticed by a new idea to get something done ‘better, quicker, or more efficiently’.
11. You don’t have time to take a walk with your husband, take your children on a leisurely excursion, or invite a person who unexpectedly crosses your path to sit down and “tell me about  what is going on in your world…”
12. A day’s worth is determined by any of these: cleanliness, a finished project, hours put in, “perfection”, tasks crossed off, or sheer miles traveled in any given day.
13. “Be still and know that I am God” is for another season of your life.
14. You don’t feel the satisfaction and fulfillment of hard work completed half as much as you know its urgency and demand hanging over your head.

May we cultivate in our hearts and in our homes a work industry that keeps balance between the hard call of tireless hours and sacrifice AND the discipline to say no to endless good things that rob us of those things (less urgent but eternally) more important.

 People are always more important than tasks. 

"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.