“I’m busy.” Most of us hear and say this all the time. In our world, nearly everyone is busy.

Kevin DeYoung wrote an excellent (and mercifully short) book about the problem of being crazy busy. He sums up the problem like this: “most everyone I know feels frazzled and overwhelmed most of the time.”¹

Here are a few bad reasons DeYoung cites for our busyness:

1. “Because we can do so much, we do do so much.”² Perhaps we’re unable to filter the urgent from the important. In any case, the boundless opportunities of our age can overwhelm us.

2. People-pleasing. If your goal is to meet the expectations of others, no doubt you will find yourself harried and overwhelmed.

3. Overestimating our importance. If you think everything depends on you, you will never have a break.

4. Pity. Do we get sympathy for being ridiculously busy?

5. Perfectionism. If you must stop every mistake, you will not stop.

6. Not understanding our callings. If you are a Christian, DeYoung’s note that “Jesus didn’t do it all” may be helpful:

   Jesus didn’t meet every need. He left people waiting in line to be healed. He left one town to preach to another. He hid away to pray. He got tired. He never interacted with the vast majority of people on the planet. … He did not try to do it all. And yet, he did everything God asked him to do.³

Of course, DeYoung recognizes good reasons for busyness as well. His book is packed with practical wisdom, and I am not surprised that the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association named it the Christian Book of the Year.

After dealing with the dangers of busyness and why we are so busy, he looks at the importance of priorities, the modern “cruel Kindergarchy,” the dangers of the screen, the importance of rest, the importance of serving others and the inevitable stress it brings, and the “one thing you must do.”

Perhaps my favorite quote is this: “Busyness does not mean you are a faithful or fruitful Christian. It only means you are busy, just like everyone else.”⁴

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