After spending four years in America, a foreign student was asked to describe America. He said he would do it with three words: HURRY—WORRY—BUSY. That’s a sad commentary on us in this day and time. We are very busy. People often tell me that time is just flying by. I remind you that if your life is flying by, you are the pilot and you determine the speed and direction. How busy you are is your choice.
There is a convicting Old Testament story in I Kings about a man who was given a prisoner to guard. If the prisoner escaped, he would be killed in exchange for allowing the prisoner to escape.
When the person in charge came to check on him, he discovered that the prisoner had escaped. He probably asked the guard if he had been overpowered by the enemy, or if he had gone to sleep and the man overpowered him, or he had become distracted, or how did he let the man escape.
The guard simply said, “While I was busy here and there, my prisoner escaped.” (I Kings 20:40)
So many good things escape us in life because we are too busy. We spend a lot of energy, but we are more like a rocking chair. We are just spending energy and not going anywhere. We are like an octopus on roller skates—a lot of activity but going nowhere. If you are going nowhere, you will get there!
Being too busy keeps us from accomplishing the things that make a difference in life. It’s like a mother who took her kids to the carnival to ride the merry-go-round. When the kids finished, the mother said to the children, “You spent all your money. You got off where you got on, and you got on where you got off. Answer this question, “Where have you been?”
That’s the real question in life, “Where have you been?” It doesn’t matter how many miles you have traveled or how many hours you spent—where have you been? Was it where God wanted you to be? Live your life every day with your eyes on the compass and not the clock!
How fast you live is not the question. You can get involved doing so many things trying to be successful that you miss out on what it really means to be successful. Speed is never as important as purpose.
In the great competition among the ancient Greeks, the runner who won the race was not the one who crossed the finish line first, but it was the one who crossed it first with his torch still burning. Many of us are going fast, but the torch has gone out. Socrates warned us, “Beware of the barrenness of a busy life.”
We are about halfway through 2026. What have you really accomplished in 2026 that will make an eternal difference? Are they things that can be taken away from you? Don’t ever let your purpose in life be based on something that you can lose.
This is the greatest day to be alive. Whatever you do, somebody will do it better, faster, and may even get the trophy. But the real question–did you win at the most important things in life?
You won’t get to live today over again. Tomorrow is a new day. It’s an opportunity to change how you spend your time, your energy, and your resources. Spend your time doing some things that will still be here when you leave this life.
How busy are you?
