7 Hypotheses for Why we are So Busy Today - By Kyle Kowalski
"1. Busyness could be a badge of honor and trendy status symbol — or the glorification of busy — to show our importance, value, or self-worth in our fast-paced society
2. Busyness could be job security — an outward sign of productivity and company loyalty
3. Busyness could be FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) — spending is shifting from buying things (“have it all”) to experiences (“do it all”), packing our calendars (and social media feeds with the “highlight reel of life”)
4. Busyness could be a byproduct of the digital age — our 24/7 connected culture is blurring the line between life and work; promoting multitasking and never turning “off”
5. Busyness could be a time filler — in the age of abundance of choice, we have infinite ways to fill time (online and off) instead of leaving idle moments as restorative white space
6. Busyness could be a necessity — working multiple jobs to make ends meet while also caring for children at home
7. Busyness could be escapism — from idleness and slowing down to face the tough questions in life (e.g. Maybe past emotional pain or deep questions like, “What is the meaning of life?” or “What is my purpose?”)"
The United States is the only advanced economy in the world that does not guarantee its workers paid vacation days and paid holidays.1 This means that employees can work for months or even years without any break, lacking the work-life balance that is important for their physical and mental well-being.
-Forbes Magazine
MORE FROM FORBES:
Nearly a third (31%) of U.S. employees do not have access to PTO
Over half (52%) of employees report working while on PTO
Over 765 million vacation days have gone unused by Americans
I have observed an epidemic of sorts. Patient after patient suffering from the same condition…fatigue, irritability, insomnia, anxiety, headaches, heartburn, bowel disturbances, back pain, and weight gain. There are no blood tests or X-ray diagnostics for this condition, and yet it's easy to recognize. The condition is excessive busyness.
-Dr. Suzanne Koven
In a busy world, couples either don't have time to fight - and leave issues unresolved- or they are so stressed that they fight all the time. When slammed women tend to see their friends less- a huge setback considering social networks are key to our overall physical, and mental health and longevity.
-Ann Burnett
Parents aren’t just stressing out themselves with jam-packed calendars and over-scheduled lives- they are doing the same thing to their kids
-Kidzu.com
Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your oxen and donkeys and other livestock, and any foreigners living among you. All your male and female servants must rest as you do. Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt, but the Lord your God brought you out with his strong hand and powerful arm. That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to rest on the Sabbath day.
-Deuteronomy 5:12-15
No Rest.
So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king.
-Exodus 1:11
The Egyptians …became very abusive to the the Israelites and contrived many ways of afflicting them ; for they enjoined them to cut a great number of channels for the river, and to build walls for their cities and ramparts , that they might restrain the river…; they also set them up to build pyramids and all this wore them out.
-Josephus
They never had a day off. They were treated as tools of production…They were ‘doing’ machines. They worked seven days a week, all year long.
-Pete Scazzero
I have seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians…
-Exodus 3:7-8a
Loss of your identity.
The men were herded -sometimes to one place then to another; sometimes driven together, then apart- like a flock of sheep without a thought or will of their own. A small but dangerous pack watched from all sides, well versed in the methods of torture and sadism. They drove the herd incessantly backwards and forwards with shouts, kicks and blows. And we, the sheep, thought of two things only- how to evade the dogs and how to get a little food.
-Viktor Frankl
When God comes to rescue the Israelites He restores:
1. God restores their identity
Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Now as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You must keep My Sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, so that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. Therefore you are to keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it must be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. So the sons of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to celebrate the Sabbath throughout their generations as a permanent covenant.’ It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed.’
-Exodus 31:12-17
The Sabbath is to be both a sign and a time for remembering the distinct relationship between Yahweh and the people of israel.
-A.C.Myers
2. He Restores their rhythm: God worked—we are to work/God rested—we are to rest
Keep the Sabbath day to treat it as holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. For six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the LORD your God; you shall not do any work that day, you or your son or your daughter, or your male slave or your female slave, or your ox, your donkey, or any of your cattle, or your resident who stays with you, so that your male slave and your female slave may rest as well as you. And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to celebrate the Sabbath day.
-Deuteronomy 5:12-15 (NASB)
The Sabbath was always a hallmark of the Jews through their history. This one act, perhaps more than any other kept them from the pressure of the powerful cultures that have sought to assimilate them.
-Pete Scazzero
Busyness / Noise, the lack of rest is a relationship killer that steals deep connection we need to have in our marriages, families, friendships, and church.
Sabbath is a length of time (typically 24 hours) set aside for rest in God. It doesn't matter what day it is.
The practice emancipates and enriches us so that the Kingdom reigns through us before others, on behalf of others, sometimes in spite of others, and always with others.
-Marva Dawn
What do we do to improve our relationships through sabbath rest?
1. Stop/Cease
Projects, term papers, answering emails, returning phone messages, cleaning the house…On Sabbath I embrace my limits.
-Pete Scazzero
If you trust God to run the world you will focus on connecting with people.
2. Rest
You are able to engage in relationships because you are fully present.
3. Delight
Quality time undisturbed, uninterrupted—no phones in hand, no TV in the background. It is a time the child can clearly see that there is nothing more important to mum and or dad than the simple act of being with them.
-Kidzu.com
On Sabbaths God invites us to delight in people.
-Pete Scazzero
What brings you delight?
And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
-Genesis 1:31
4. Contemplate
‘But the seventh day is a Sabbath of the LORD your God’
-Deuteronomy 5:14
So we are to spend time immersed in God’s enfolding devotion to us….
-Marva Dawn
If we all spent more time contemplating on God, in loving union with Him, our relationships would be fuller and thriving.
The practice emancipates and enriches us so that the Kingdom reigns through us before others, on behalf of others, sometimes in spite of others, and always with others.
-Marva Dawn
CHALLENGE: Take an 8-24 hour sabbath rest.
What are your main takeaways from this message?
Make a Decision