“Don’t You Know How Busy and Important I am?”

On a recent visit to Ottawa, my daughter showed me a video that made me both laugh and wince. It’s a song by a British singer, Tom Rosenthal, called “Don’t you know how busy and important I am?”

Busyness and importance often go together in our world. In fact, being busy makes us feel important. It gives us a sense that we are making progress, moving ahead, going somewhere in life. But sadly, that’s not necessarily true—just think of a hamster on a wheel.

Back in my seminary days I read an article by Eugene Peterson with the provocative title, The Unbusy Pastor. Peterson makes the case that busyness is often a sign of laziness. He writes,

It was a favourite theme of C. S. Lewis that only lazy people work hard. By lazily abdicating the essential work of deciding and directing, establishing values and setting goals, other people do it for us; then we find ourselves frantically, at the last minute, trying to satisfy a half dozen different demands on our time, none of which is essential to our vocation, to stave off the disaster of disappointing someone.

So as I watch Tom Rosenthal’s song, I’m asking God to help me reject the barrenness of busyness and resist the illusion of importance. By His grace, may we all live at a liveable pace, prioritize His agenda and fulfill His calling on our lives.