Busy is not a virtue: What Jesus taught me about hustle culture

I spent the majority of my twenties being “busy.” I would cram my calendar to the brim without much time for solitude and reflection, jumping from work to social events to church to whatever else. My mom constantly warned me over the years to add “margin” in my life as I ran myself ragged without any space to breathe.

Living in Washington, D.C., during the majority of my adulthood didn’t help either. The city feasts on hustlers like me and preys on those with no boundaries or time for rest. The world assured me I was thriving while God saw I was drowning.

When Jesus walked this earth, he was on a mission though he never seemed to be in a hurry.

I wore busyness as a badge of honor, and society praised me for it. But the culture of busyness nearly did me in. A lot suffered — my health, my spiritual walk, my quality of life, and more. The chickens came home to roost. These consequences ultimately showed me the need for a healthier life.

Our calendars say a lot about us. They shows us what we value and what we prioritize. Time is a gift, and how we spend it tells us where our treasure is. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” Matthew 6:21 tells us.

We’ve heard the cliché “I’m so busy” line too many times to count. It’s almost as if it’s turned into a competition to see who’s busier because busier means you’re more important. The soccer mom running from school pick-up to sports practices or the business executive running from one business meeting to the next, it seems like no one has much time for anything that actually matters anymore. A lot of families I talk to say they’re lucky if they can squeeze in a family dinner once a week, which is a devastating reality.

But the majority of people live like this. Around 60% of Americans have reported feeling "too busy to enjoy life,” according to a 2018 Pew research survey.

The truth is we all have the same amount of time. There’s 24 hours in a day — no more, no less. We get to decide what we do with the time God has allotted us.

When Jesus walked this earth, he was on a mission though he never seemed to be in a hurry. I’m sure when the apostles asked Jesus how he was doing, he didn’t jabber about how busy he was. He lived intentionally with his time. Jesus knew what his priorities were, and he didn’t waver from those. Even when he was traveling somewhere or in the middle of something, he would stop when it mattered. Jesus didn’t live in the constant hustle of life. When people needed him, he stopped everything he was doing and helped them — untethered by the world’s expectations or their view of him.

When Jesus was near Jericho on his way to Passover, a blind beggar cried out to him. Annoyed, people rebuked the man and told him to be silent, as Luke 18 records. But instead of being bullied into silence by the crowd, the blind beggar continued crying out to Jesus. Luke 18:40 says, “Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him.” Jesus stopped what he was doing and restored the blind man's sight after seeing the faith this man had.

The blind beggar went from being a societal outcast with no hope to gaining sight and following Jesus. What a huge difference Jesus made in this man’s life because he wasn’t rushed.

Even after just witnessing this miracle, the crowd once again became annoyed because Jesus made yet another stop. Jesus intentionally stops to talk with the chief tax collector Zacchaeus, whom people loathed. Contrary to the beggar, Zacchaeus didn’t seek Jesus out by calling on him, but rather Jesus sought Zacchaeus out under the sycamore tree saying, “I must stay at your house today” (Luke 19:5). When this happened, the crowd “grumbled.” They had no time for a lunch stop because they were trying to get to the Passover. But Jesus wasn’t in the slightest rush. He knew changing lives and hearts for eternity was much more important.

We must live intentionally and redeem our time well like Jesus did.

Jesus transformed Zacchaeus’ life from the inside out by taking time to visit with him. He always had the time for what really mattered.

When Mary and Joseph couldn’t find 12-year-old Jesus for three days, they found him in the temple. When the crowds kept following Jesus, he would withdraw by boat to a desolate place. When he prayed, he went to a quiet location. Jesus “withdrew” from the crowds, the disciples, and distractions because spending time with God was vital. His father’s work took top priority over what people thought of him or the number of followers he had or the pressure to perform.

Jesus managed his time with intention. The God who created time sent his son to come down on earth to demonstrate the right way to live within the very boundaries he created.

If we don’t manage our time, it will manage us.

In his book "Ordering Your Private World," Gordon MacDonald says that unmanageable time goes to four main things. It’ll flow toward our weaknesses; it’ll come under the influence of dominant people; it’ll surrender to the demand of all emergencies; and it will be invested in things that gain public acclamation. If we don’t budget our time, the world and our own natural tendencies will.

How many times do we get caught up in “me-” focused priorities — scrolling on our phones, buying things we don’t need, and filling up our calendars with activities that don’t actually matter? I’m guilty on all accounts, and I have a long way to grow in this area.

What if this year we committed ourselves to truly live like Jesus by leaving our calendars open for opportunities to serve and touch others’ lives like he did with the blind beggar and Zacchaeus?

Instead of letting constant distractions and shiny objects grab our attention like scrolling our phones, watching the news, and falling prey to shopping ads, we should own our calendars where our priorities align with God’s. Oftentimes, our schedules can even be full of “good” things, God-honoring things — but mis-prioritized completely. We can easily serve Jesus with a sinful heart or put ministry above our own family or serve others while neglecting our own loved ones. There are many ways we can fall short while we look like we’re serving God.

The reality is our time isn’t refundable. We don’t get it back. We must live intentionally and redeem our time well like Jesus did. Busyness can be the enemy’s main tool to keep us from holiness. But this year, we can commit to living life differently by ordering our world like Jesus did. We should be more focused on becoming holy than staying busy.

As the inspiring author and speaker Bob Goff says, “The battle for our hearts is fought on the pages of our calendars.”