Two Phrases That Bother Me – Part I
I know what it is to be busy, not necessarily because I am real busy but my roommate’s a busy man. He has his day job, his small group, administrative duties for the church and a long distance relationship to maintain. Throw on top of that all the other normal duties of life and you have someone with very little personal time. But the fact of the matter is, if you lead a small group and work or take a full load of classes, you will be busy. We’re all busy to some extent. Now that my class started up, it will eat into whatever free time I have. But it is no excuse. I still have time to sneak in a video game here and there over the course of the week. I still have time to watch some football and check up on my fantasy teams. My roommate still finds time to play video games here and there.
I remember the rebuke a friend shared with me years ago when I first started leading. One of the pastors rebuked him for saying he was too busy. He thought being busy was a good thing, he was using his time to the fullest for different callings and responsibilities. However, small group members were scared to ask him for help or to meet up. He was “too busy” for them. He was getting wrapped up in the programs and forgetting about the people.
I am never too busy to meet with small group members. If it means I have to sacrifice sleep or rearrange my schedule, that is what I will do. I always want to be available for them, esp. in the case of an emergency. I never want my evaluation to be that I was too busy for them.
Busyness comes down to priorities and discipline. There are many things I can do in a day. I choose to do the most important. My small group and my coservant are among my highest priorities. I will never say I am too busy for them; I will make time.