Is busyness good business?
Sometimes we spin our wheels and spend a lot of time on a task but when we look back, it seems like we haven’t accomplished anything.
In today’s episode, we will talk about busyness and how it relates to us as authors.
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Is Busyness Equal to Good Business?
CJ: Hey, I’m CJ Hitz.
SHELLEY: And I’m Shelley Hitz.
CJ: We want to welcome you to another Godly Gain segment, and today we want to talk about busyness, does it equal good business?
SHELLEY: Yeah, this is a great topic because I think we all can get caught up in that hamster wheel of busyness.
CJ: How many of us can relate to being busy all the time? Where we are just going through all of the protocol and all the ideas that we have, just flittering and fluttering everywhere? But when we look back, we wonder, “What did I really accomplish that’s really worthwhile? I spent a lot of time on something, but what do I have to show for it? Was it even worth it?”
I want to talk briefly about busyness and how it relates to business. I know that most of you who are watching are related in a business of some kind; whether it be book writing and publishing, some kind of a small business that you run, or product that you developed or created and sell.
I want to read a story that many of us are probably familiar with, and it’s the story regarding Jesus having dinner with Mary and Martha, two sisters. They had a brother as well named Lazarus, that’s a whole different story but perhaps we can even weave that in on the road in a Godly Gain segment.
I want to read the story from Luke 10 of Jesus with Mary and Martha.
Luke 10:38-42
As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”
But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
So, first of all, let’s mention that someone did have to prepare dinner. If they were going to have dinner together someone had to do the hard work in the kitchen.
SHELLEY: There’s work that had to be done.
CJ: We are not discounting what Martha was doing. Martha was up to fixing a good meal for all of them to enjoy together and fellowship over, but there’s a key phrase in verse 40, “but Martha was distracted.”
SHELLEY: That big D word, distractions!
CJ: Yeah, that big D word. So how many of us can get distracted?
SHELLEY: We all know about distractions as writers and publishers.
CJ: Oh, big time! It says she was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. How many of us have been distracted by, perhaps, a big deal or a big idea?
SHELLEY: A book launch.
CJ: What BIG something are we preparing for? Just fill in the blank.
I think many of us get these great ideas that we launch into and we hope that the Lord is on board. IT can be a good thing. It can help a lot of people, it’s something that needs a lot of time and we need to stay busy doing it.
Yet, many times we miss the boat; we miss the best part. Jesus is essentially telling Martha, “Calm down. I know dinner needs to be prepared and I appreciate you doing that and your serving us, but don’t knock on Mary for what she’s chosen in this moment. Mary has chosen to sit at my feet and take in the things that I’m sharing; the things that I’m teaching. She’s absorbing time with me.”
I think many times that’s the thing that we miss. We miss sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to him. Perhaps, even in that listening, we might find an even better idea or something that Jesus really has for us instead of constantly staying busy, doing a good thing, but not the best thing.
SHELLEY: I think it was Abraham Lincoln who said, “If you would take a few minutes to sharpen your ax as you’re chopping down a tree, your work would go so much faster.”
Sometimes we’re so busy and we want to get that book finished or that product launched, and you’re just chopping, chopping and chopping at that tree with a dull ax. I’m as guilty as anyone!
But if we would stop and pray and spend time with God, we can sharpen our ax. Lately for me, I’ve been taking prayer walks where I’m actually visualizing the Holy Spirit walking with me and talking with me.
We can sharpen our ax and God can give us even better ideas, reroute us, save us time, overcome tech demons or tech problems sometimes, and He can go before us instead of us just chopping and chopping and barely getting anything done.
CJ: Many of you might be able to relate to this, where you get up in the morning, then all the sudden you head by your computer, and you open that up and you get involved in something that might be good again.
SHELLEY: Checking your email.
CJ: At first it might be answering an email. But then that leads to five other things, five other rabbit trails. And pretty soon you have a meeting that is an hour later and you’ve got to get ready for, and you’ve missed that really sweet time with the Lord where it’s just quiet. You missed that time where it’s maybe over a cup of coffee while you’re sitting in your easy chair with the Bible opened, whatever your favorite devotion may be.
SHELLEY: CJ’s easy chair is right over there.
CJ: I love that time, and I really try to make it a habit of getting that cup of coffee and then coming in to sit in my 
chair, and then opening up the word and marinating in it.
I don’t always do that and there have been many times when I get distracted by something and man I’ll tell you what, the rest of the day just doesn’t seem to go smoothly. I don’t know how it all works, I just know that sometimes I’m more impatient, shorter in my responses to people, and the only way I can explain it is I haven’t truly connected with my Creator, and plugged into that power to deal with the rest of the day.
SHELLEY: I can definitely be a workaholic and CJ knows that, and when we were first starting our business I would work 12 and 14 hour days, right? I was working a LOT of days.
Now we have a team and God’s blessed us, we’ve been able to expand a little bit, so I’m not having to work as much. I remember him saying to me, “Shelley, do you really think you’re going to be productive when you’re working that many hours and you’re tired and stressed out? Are you really going to be more effective?”
I think we get this mindset that the more work we do, the more things we accomplish, the harder we try and the more hours we work will make everything better. But what really happens is that this can actually decrease our productivity compared to taking some time away and then having a block of really powerful productive time.
I want to challenge you in that, because I needed that challenge at times. Sometimes we’re just working so many hours that it actually saps our productivity and creativity. Also, as Christians, God is the one that gives us those ideas and really pave the way for us. So what’s your closing thought for us?
CJ: Just sharing from a personal level, again Luke 10:41
“But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details!”
With me personally, I do some speaking and many of my speaking engagements through the years came through cold contacts with reaching out to Christian schools, churches, or camps just to get my name out there; it was that shameless self-promotion. I remember I would send out emails to all kinds of schools and I’d be just constantly wanting to check to see how they responded; just busy, busy, busy, trying to send out a good marketing email, or put together a good physical mailing that I can send out.
I remember my good friend Phillip Telfer, who I’ve done ministry with throughout the years and runs a ministry that is very successful. Phillip once told me, “One of the habits I’m trying to get into CJ is, praying twice as much as I spend in my marketing, sending out emails or phone calls.”
SHELLEY: I remember that.
CJ: I remember that it really hit me, because I thought, “Man, I’ll bet you, I’m spending five times as much time on the marketing side as I am on the praying side.”
SHELLEY: Probably even more.
CJ: Exactly. So I guess my challenge to you and to myself at the same time is, how much time are we really spending?
As Jesus said, there’s only one thing worth being concerned about. How much time are you spending in prayer, in that closet where it’s just you and the Lord? Even just giving Him all of your desires and giving Him those great ideas that many of which are probably put on your heart by the Lord.
How many of us are really spending that quality time seeking the best thing? Not just seeking Jesus for His hand, but seeking for His presence.
Out of that sweet fellowship with Jesus, I think so many awesome things, including business ideas, can come about. So take that to heart in terms of busyness versus good business.
SHELLEY: I was just sharing in the Author Audience Academy group yesterday that I’ve been in a funk, and it was really bad this week again. It’s been about the last month and it sort of started since I’ve been working on this new book project, and one of the members said she was really having some struggles too.
She shared, “I set up this little corner, and it’s my place to pray. I just got on my knees and I stayed there until I got peace.” Then she said she has peace and now she’s moving forward.
Many times when you’re out there and you’re on the front lines, actively sharing and everything, it is so easy to get caught up in the busyness that we unplug from the power source. Then we get all those worried and distractions, and believe me, I’ve been there.
It’s been a fierce spiritual battle lately, but it is truly that relationship and intimacy with God that is the key; no matter what we’re doing, whether it’s personal or business.
Let us pray over you today. Let’s pray for God’s peace and that He would just really give you time, wherever it is. I know some people are busy parents and that time is in your shower, or maybe in your car, or when you take a walk but just take that time to really connect with him.
God, I pray right now for everyone who is listening. I pray that your peace that passes all understanding would wash over them, right now in Jesus’ name. I command any fear or worry or striving to leave in Jesus’ name. I just pray Lord that there would be an overwhelming hunger in each one of us to spend time with you and to seek you. Just like the story of one of our authors make us say that, “I’m going to go onto my knees and I’m going to stay here until I get peace and I hear from you.”
I pray that we would be persistent in hearing from you and coming to you, making that part of our life 24/7, like you are right here sitting in the room with us. Thank you for your Holy Spirit, thank you for empowering us, and thank you for fresh starts. We’re all guilty, we’ve all gone astray, distracted, worried, and we’ve all gotten caught up in the busyness of life before and maybe we’re still caught up in it right now.
I pray that we would just confess any busyness to you, any distractions, and anything that have taken us away from you. I thank you for fresh starts, I thank you that we can start this week anew, and we pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
CJ: Amen.
So folks, go with this thought; that you can go from busyness to being about Jesus’ business.
SHELLEY: Amen.
CJ: God bless you guys.
SHELLEY: We’ll see you guys next time!
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