Busyness Isn't a Barrier

Welcome: Labor Day & Thanks

Hey everyone! Happy Labor Day weekend to all of you.

Hey—some of you might be surprised to see me this weekend. If you don’t know: I’m currently off for a few weeks after a surgery I had back in August. But, through the miracle of modern technology, I’m very glad to be able to join you this weekend.

That being said: thank you so much for praying for me and my family. We really appreciate that. And I’m looking very much forward to being with you more than “just virtually” here in a couple more weeks. But this kind of the cool thing, not only about technology, but also about God’s Word:

Doesn’t matter if we read it on a page in the Bible that was originally written thousands of years ago—or if we’re hearing it on a video recorded a few weeks ago: it’s alive, because God is alive. And he’s able to speak to us through his Word this weekend.

Anyways: I hope your Labor Day is filled with some time off, maybe with friends or family, maybe a burger or two, as we’re kind of “officially” saying goodbye to the summer and getting settled into our fall rhythm.

Series & Weekend Intro

Around here at Prairie Lakes, we’ve been in a series for the past couple of weeks that we’re finishing up this weekend called “Becoming the Person Others Turn To.” Becoming the Person Others Turn To. We’ve talked about...

Jesus being our example—what it was about him and about how he lived that made people seek him out or turn to him in times of need.

We’ve also talked about how important it is for us to be on this spiritual journey of self awareness—allowing God to help us see what’s going on inside of us emotionally and where he needs to keep changing us so that we become that kind of person.

So now, as we put a period on our series this weekend, here’s what we need to talk about:

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Becoming the Person Others Turn To:

Removing the Barrier of Busyness

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You know, I think if you went on to our website and looked at how many sermons we’ve preached in the last 10 years on time or busyness or something related, you’d find more than a few. It’s something we talk about frequently.

And at our best, we talk about it because we want something for you instead of from you. You’re gonna be more of who God wants you to be when you’re spending your time in the way that he wants.

But at our worst, we talk about busyness because we need something from ya— and God agrees with us: we need ya to serve on a team | or get in a group | or come to something | or invite your friends to something. And while those aren’t bad, it can feel like that’s kinda where our vision for you ends—with you making more time for something church-related.

So… which one of those is it going to be this weekend? For me or from me?

Well, hopefully more of the former than the latter. But if you’re already kind of suspicious, I get it.

Because there aren’t too many things we are more protective of | or sensitive about these days | than our time.

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For a lot of us, time is the new money.

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We’re familiar with the phrase, “time is money”—we don’t want to waste time because it costs money. And in that sentiment, money’s still the driver.

But now, not as much.

In fact, more and more of us will absolutely trade money if it means we get more time or can spend our time more freely.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported on a survey that Deloitte did, where they asked:

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What’s most important to your sense of identity?

Friends/Family Job

Millennials 70% 62%

Gen Zers 64% 49%

Source: Callum Borchers, Wall Street Journal, May 11, 2023

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What’s this telling us? Well, a priority for one thing: friends and family are more important than work for most of the workforce.

But it’s also showing us a trend: that priority is only getting stronger. The younger you are, the bigger the gap between how much more important friends and family are to you than work.

Here’s another piece of data from that same article—this time talking about what they admire the most in others:

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What do you most admire about your peers?

Work-life balance

Living on their own terms

Ambition to learn new skills

Reinventing themselves

Dedication to family and friends

Passion for work

Source: Callum Borchers, Wall Street Journal, May 11, 2023

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So this kinda fills out the picture a little bit more.

If all we were going off of was what the previous slide was telling us—friends and family are more important than work—then we’d probably all just go, “Great. That’s a good thing. Friends and family are more important than work. Maybe there is hope for the next generation.”

But this slide tells us a little different story.

Look at what fell all the way to #5: dedication to family and friends.

Previously, we said that friends and family are the most important to us.

But when it comes to living that value out in real life...

There’s a gap. There’s four other things that we admire more when we see it lived out. We want a good work-life balance so that we can… live life on our own terms, coming in at #2.

Which leads me to conclude:

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Time might be the new money—but the freedom to spend our time on our own terms is the real prize.

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You already know where we’re going this weekend: we’re talking about trying to remove busyness as a barrier to becoming the person others turn to.

But I think that busyness is just a symptom. It’s what presents itself on the surface of our lives. I can’t make time for others because I already have so much going on.

But if “less busy” meant...

more time for others, or

margin to help someone else out, instead of just...

more time to do what I want to do—

How many of us are signing up for “less busy” if it meant that?

I think what we really want is more control over how we spend our time. Not necessarily for the sake of others, or church, or my family, or friends… I mean, maybe, if that’s what we decide… but…

Consider this with me:

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Busyness isn’t the real barrier to becoming someone who others turn to—because busyness isn’t the real problem.

The problem is control.

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In fact, I’d say busyness might be our favorite way to remain in control. “Oh, I’d love to—but I’m just swamped.” “Oh, no problem.”

The problem is control.

Control isn’t a calendar issue; it’s a heart issue.

And this is maybe where we start getting to some good news—because if we can accept this as true—maybe even true of us—and then we give Jesus access to this part of our heart…

He can begin to confront the power that control has over our hearts, so that me might become someone others can turn to.