The Anesthesia of Busyness: When Doing More Means Feeling Less

As disciples of Christ, it can often feel like we have too much to do and not enough time to do it. After all, as Elder Okechukwu Imo said, “Becoming and remaining faithful disciples of Jesus Christ requires constant work …” and don’t we know it. Members have been encouraged to prioritize scripture study, family time, temple attendance, church callings, ministering, and so forth. Frequently, these many ‘to-dos’ can feel overwhelming. Indeed, it is not uncommon for members of the Church to feel as though they are running through the motions, checking off the items on their list rather than feeling like they are spending genuine time communing with God and others. Particularly within contemporary American culture, to be busy is to be prestigious. As Elder Uchtdorf puts it, “We even wear our busyness as a badge of honor, as though being busy, by itself, was an accomplishment or sign of superior life.” But being busy is not the point of the gospel, though it can feel good.

However, being hurried or productive seems to be the golden standard of living. The constant, persistent messaging across various lifestyles seems to promote the idea that we are never doing enough, that we can always do more, and that, in doing more, we are ultimately better for it.

When we put all these varying demands on our time together, it can feel like an impossible standard to meet. We ask, “How am I supposed to do all of these things?” Perhaps the answer is simple: we are not meant to do all of them. In fact, being busy can detract from the actual purpose of this life. As John Otberg, a well-known Christian author, said:

For many of us, the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it. We will just skim our lives instead of actually living them.

How does the clutter of our life, even things we try to do within religious practices, distract us from the things that truly matter? How can we find the power to focus our lives in ways that edify, uplift, and draw us closer to Christ?

Spoiler alert—the answer is not “doing more.”

To read the entire article: Public Square Magazine