II Thessalonians 3:10-11 “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.”
Hey, Are You Busy?
Is there a difference between “work” and “busy”? In reality, this question of working and being busy is only a concern in our world. In the animal kingdom, there is no such thing as a lazy squirrel. Lazy squirrels are dead squirrels! On the other hand, have you ever seen a squirrel that was busy scampering back and forth in your lane of the highway? He just needs to make up his mind and get out of the way! He is plenty busy but is only accelerating the trauma he will meet when your tires roll around.
In II Thessalonians, some people were not working with their hands, but they were busy. Paul called them “busybodies.” You can be very busy inserting yourself into someone else’s business, but it is another point altogether to be industrious. “Busy” speaks of energy; “work” (“industry”) speaks to an end.
You should focus your day on what you accomplish, not on how busy you are. If you only focused on filling time instead of accomplishing things that will make a difference, you will be busy but not industrious. Work is virtuous. Hard work is virtuous. But work is not virtuous apart from what it accomplishes.
Make your day count for something. Be more concerned with the end than with busyness. The benchmark for today is not how busy you are but how much good you accomplish. So, are you busy today?