Living the Simple Life: The Difference Between Busy and Hurried
You can be busy and still practice simplicity
“Hurry is what rips 1 Corinthians 13 out of the Bible.” — Jan Johnson
Was Jesus ever hurried?
One look at the life of Jesus and we can see that he was a busy man. Read Luke 8:22–54 and write out the timeline of these events. Think about the mode of travel of that day and the time it took to do things like preparing a meal.
Indeed, Jesus was busy!
Now look closely at the stories in this passage. Do you notice that Jesus was never hurried?
Even during a terrible storm, he wasn’t hurried!
Jesus gave his full attention
Each person or event in which He focused, received his authentic, undivided attention and love. He wasn’t casting his eyes about the crowd to see who was next in line to shake his hand. He didn’t need to consult with Matthew about the agenda for the day to see if He was still on schedule.
He focused on the person or the need directly in front of him.
Jan Johnson says that is what we can do to love God. She says if we simply focus on the person in front of us for the next ten minutes, we are serving God.
Sounds simple, but when you think about the interruptions, the people who seem more like obstacles to our next important task, I bet we can all think of times where we fail to love the person before us.
It’s unrealistic to expect that we’ll never have deadlines or scheduled appointments, but we don’t have to approach our lives with a hurried spirit.
Be intentional
By being intentional about where we’ll spend our time and what activities will fill our lives (and let’s be practical here too), we can walk in a state of purpose, as Jesus did. We can look at people who cross our paths — as we walk through our day — and we can notice them. When we notice them we can love them.
Because being hurried doesn’t just hurt you, it hurts those around you too.
You can be busy and practice simplicity
It starts with intention and purpose. Check your busy — is it just an excuse for a hurried spirit?
A simple prayer
Lord, help me to live a life that is not hurried. I want to discern the difference between busy and hurried. I want to be emotionally and spiritually available for people when they need me. I want to be a woman who loves others well by noticing them. Amen.
Preparing for simplicity
- Take your eyes away from the computer (or whatever) when your child or partner walks into your office to ask you a question.
- Look away from your phone (better yet, put it away) while waiting in lines, for appointments, sitting down to a meal, or at the airport. Observe, make eye contact, start a conversation, and silently pray for God to show you someone who needs you to notice them.
Simple truths
- 1 Corinthians 13
- Philippians 2:3
- Psalm 94:19
- Psalm 139:23
Practicing simplicity
Katy Bowman talks about stacking your life by making one activity serve multiple purposes — note — this is NOT multitasking. Stacking allows you to complete the necessary tasks while still making time for the important tasks and people in your life.
Examples would be
- Walking with a friend who needs to talk
- Listening to audiobooks while cleaning
- Gardening with your child
- Talking on the phone with a friend while you hang clothes on the line
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