"Busy" is a four letter word

鈥淪orry I didn鈥檛 write back: I鈥檝e been busy.鈥�

鈥淐an鈥檛 talk right now: I鈥檓 really busy.鈥�

鈥淢an, but I鈥檓 busy! When will this stop?鈥�

My contribution to last Saturday鈥檚鈥�Faith Forum鈥� came in, as is often the case with me, very tight to the deadline. That鈥檚 been the bane of my relationships with editors, news directors and, in this case, the Faith Forum coordinator.

So, when I went to offer an excuse/apology for the lateness, I started to write, 鈥淚鈥檝e been really busy鈥�. And I caught myself, because 鈥渂usy鈥� has become a negative word 鈥� a 鈥渇our-letter鈥� word, in fact.

(For those of a younger generation than mine, there was a time when the most offensive words in the English language, words like ****, ****, **** and even, if you can believe it, ****, had one thing in common: each had four letters. I realize that these days, pretty much the only place where you can be guaranteed not to hear those words and others like them is a Hallmark Christmas movie, so the idea that a 鈥渇our-letter word鈥� is necessarily a 鈥渂ad鈥� word might be outmoded. But work with me on this, OK?)

Do we ever say we鈥檙e busy and mean it in a positive way? When my daughter was a toddler, I鈥檇 remark that she was a very 鈥渂usy baby鈥� 鈥� always getting into things, touching things I didn鈥檛 think she should, always needing to be supervised. It was always spoken lovingly, but there was still that little shake of the head that said, 鈥渂ut I wish she weren鈥檛鈥�.

Some have suggested substituting words like 鈥渙ccupied鈥� or 鈥減roductive鈥�, or something else more positive. But there鈥檚 another aspect to the notion of 鈥渂usy鈥�.

Doesn鈥檛鈥渂usy鈥� tend to mean that we鈥檙e really too self-absorbed, too 鈥渋nto鈥� our own 鈥渢hing鈥�, to pay attention to someone else? Telling someone we鈥檙e busy is often a way of dismissing them, implying that whatever is going on in their life 鈥� whether it鈥檚 a major personal crisis or simply a desire to chat 鈥� couldn鈥檛听辫辞蝉蝉颈产濒测听be more important than whatever we鈥檙e doing, even if what we鈥檙e doing is, well, nothing.

Years ago, a musician friend of mine would call me up to get together and jam. More often than not, though, I鈥檇 tell him I was 鈥渂usy鈥�. One evening, he called me and told me to turn on a local radio station. He had called the DJ to dedicate a song to me 鈥� the song had the lyric, 鈥淚t鈥檚 too late when we die.鈥� I took the hint.

Less than a year later, he died. Thirty years on, I still wish I hadn鈥檛 been 鈥渂usy鈥�. O, to jam again with you, Peter! To hear your ideas and work with them, and to hear you take mine to a level I never could have imagined! 鈥淭oo busy?鈥� My foot!

I digress.

Certainly, we may be on deadline for other work, or have things that are occupying our minds, but if someone wants our attention, committing to get back to them as soon as possible will let them know they鈥檙e still important to us.

To a Christian, being 鈥渂usy鈥� actually runs against the things Jesus taught us about loving your neighbour. The people who passed by the fellow who was beaten, robbed and left for dead alongside the road were all 鈥渢oo busy鈥� to stop and deal with him. The Samaritan, of all people, wasn鈥檛.听

When Jesus Christ tells us that 鈥渋nasmuch as you did not [minister to] the least of these [i.e. the poor] you did not do it to Me鈥�, (Matthew 25:45), He鈥檚 including the idea that we passed up the chance to help someone because we were 鈥渢oo busy鈥�.

When He tells us that one of the two Greatest Commandments is to love our neighbour in the same way that God loves us (my own interpretation of 鈥渓ove your neighbour as yourself鈥� 鈥� there are days when I听濒辞补迟丑别听myself: does that mean I can treat my neighbour like dirt on those days?), He is telling us that we should never be 鈥渢oo busy鈥�.

Put another way, if we are never 鈥渢oo busy鈥� for someone else, others will never be 鈥渢oo busy鈥� for us.听

Sometimes, being 鈥渢oo busy鈥� gets in the way of our prayer life. Heaven knows, it鈥檚 happened with me. I can imagine facing The Big Sir when my innings are over: 鈥淪o, Drew, why didn鈥檛 you spend more time in prayer 鈥� more time with Me?鈥�

鈥淯m ...鈥�

Drew Snider听is a former pastor at Gospel Mission on Vancouver's Downtown East Side, and has been a guest speaker at churches in BC. He writes about the people and events in his e-book, 鈥楪od At Work: A Testimony of Prophecy, Provision and People Amid Poverty鈥�. (available at online bookstor