?Busyness has a way of shielding us from a self-scrutiny that can reveal unpleasant truths about our reasons for doing what we do. By immersing ourselves in the frantic race to get things done, we conveniently bypass considerations of why and focus exclusively on what. And once we cross over into the realm of whats, the only thing that matters is accomplishment. I am my tote sheet, my per capita production, my vitae, and my worth is proportionate to how many whats I achieve.? (Kerry Walters. Soul Wilderness: A Desert Spirituality. New York: Paulist Press, 2001, p. 39-40.)
My ministry over the last few years has, in many ways, been about combating soulless busyness in the lives of Christian leaders. Part of this has been an expression of my own ongoing struggle with compulsive busyness. ?Why? gets at the meaning of my life. When my life is focused simply on managing all of the ?whats?, the unassuming, quiet ?why? fades into the background. My sense of identity tends to then rise and fall with how much I?m producing, what I am accumulating and how I am seen in the eyes of others. Father, continue to awaken me from the anesthesia of busyness.
