I've been trying not to discredit books just because their narrators/authors are imperfect. (See Where'd You Go Bernadette and Peace Like A River, even Biased and Sacred Rhythms.) Every author, by nature of their humanity, has biases and blind spots, brokenness and sin, that often come through in their work. I am trying to cultivate discernment... (as the idea has been illuminated to me by Phylicia Masonheimer)... learn to notice and learn from the good in imperfect works, rather than avoiding all viewpoints and conclusions different from mine. (The list of those agreeing with me is painfully short, anyway.)
That is why I'm pushing through and reading Crazy Busy. Others have said it is good, and I love the premise, but the first BIG hurdle was the the unlikeability of DeYoung's voice. I don't actually know that much about DeYoung, what he has said or failed to say, what he stands for or what controversies might surround him personally. In my mind he is part of the blob that is the Gospel Coalition, which I appreciate for many of its teachings, but also find saddening due to the lack of teaching, and apparent willful ignorance, of other things I find very important. In my mind, he's another smart white guy that others look to for teaching, and really he just keeps teaching because everyone is listening, and they keep listening because they're taught that that's what they should do. (I call it like I see it.) Anyway, this book's dedication only reinforced these ideas. I don't even know all the guys he was referencing by their first names, but I'm imagining I recognize at least Matt Chandler and Mark Dever, and probably definitely CJ Mahaney (cringe). Furthermore, his humble-bragging (that denied being humble bragging, which only made it that much more conspicuous) at the beginning only drove a larger wedge between him as a writer and me as a reader. The fact that he admitted doesn't practice the things he's going to write about (because he's too busy) made me question why in the world I should listen to him. It was clear that the people are just demanding his opinions on things, so he had to write a book on it.
But, onward and forward, because the author can be a flawed and even unlikeable vessel and still have true and helpful insights on a topic.
And good insights I found, indeed.
In seeking to unroot sin issues and bad habits, in addition asking myself what Biblical commands I am disobeying, it is helpful to ask: "What self-imposed commands am I obeying that I should ignore?" (31).
"We get worked up and crazy busy in all the wrong ways because we are more concerned about looking good than with doing good" (41).
He points out that there are many "lazy" people out there who "need to get radical for Jesus" (44), but that many people are already have too much on their plate, and they need to learn that they can't take action on every worthy cause. They need to realize their limits. "Is it possible that God is not asking me to do anything about sex trafficking right now?" (47). I mean, honestly, I get annoyed about this coming from him, because my perception is that DeYoung's whole camp is so busy writing books and reading each other's books, and getting their theology right, and tweeting about gender roles, etc, that nobody seems to have time to make important issues like sex trafficking an actionable issue. But point taken. We can't all do it all. And honestly, perhaps my the pain of my annoyance comes from the plank in my own eye, because my MO is to be busy reading about all the issues and never act on any of them.
Future reading: Beyond Mission: A Passion for Christ, a Heart for Mission about how life is more than issues and tragedies and work, it is about the hope and joy of Christ. Will look into it.
He quotes John Piper: "We should care about all suffering, especially eternal suffering" (49) but points out that caring about and acting against are different. "Not giving a rip about sex slaves is not an option for the Christian. Not doing something directly to combat this evil is an option" (49). Again, my response is that YES that is true, but I still carry a burden of resentment for the section of the church that acts like other things are always actionable (like children's programs, another Bible study, another training program) but things like social justice are optional for those who might, but probably will never, have enough time. Still, "I can forget that my circle of influence will inevitably be smaller than my circle of concern" (51) is quite incisive and challenging to me personally, because I know that it is about time I figure out what my circle of influence is and take it seriously.
More further reading: What is the Mission of the Church? Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission by Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert, mostly because I'm curious what these GC guys have to say about social justice and mission. (Have I heard them say anything about it? Mostly I just assume they think it's a non-issue because it's never mentioned, in my exposure.) Most of what I hear about social justice and mission comes from more liberal and/or contemplative voices because frankly, they're usually the ones talking about it.
"The impression we get from the Gospels is that almost every day for three years, [Jesus is] preaching, healing, and casting out demons. Don't think Jesus is some kind of Zen master who does yoga and ponders the sound of one hand clapping. If Jesus were alive today, he'd get more e-mails than any of us...He was tempted in every way just as we are, yet was without sin (Heb. 4:15)...He was busy, but never in a way that made him frantic, anxious, irritable, proud, envious, or distracted by lesser things...Jesus knew the difference between urgent and important. He understood that all the good things he could do were not necessarily the things he ought to do" (54-55).
"Ultimately, Jesus was driven by the Spirit" (56).
Also, he was "deliberate with his priorities" (57).
Oh, to be both of those things!!! (And thank you, Kevin DeYoung, for acknowledging that the third person of the Trinity is Holy Spirit, not Holy Word!)
As an example of the finiteness of humans, he uses women's inability to do it all--an annoying example, if you ask me. In discussing the "choice" a woman has between being more present at home or at work, he points out two women (a Republican and a Democrat-yay) who chose to quit their jobs to spend more time at home. He calls it "a choice women seem more hardwired to make than men" (58). Can I give him the benefit of the doubt and think, maybe he is lauding the women he's seen lay down pride, while men cling to ambition with a death grip? He did say "seem" rather than "are," and we have to be grateful for that. But that defense is a hard sell for me, because it also esteems the way women are taught to be, particularly by the author's cohort of Christianity, devoted to the needs of others (so that, it would seem, men don't have to be). Obviously this is a trigger for me, because this passing thought would not seem to warrant such an over-sized reaction. But I want to SHOUT that we need to stop the lie that women are "hardwired" for this--more specifically, the lie that we have a firm grasp of what women are "hardwired" for at all. I'm not saying women and men aren't different, but I'm saying that the intricacies and implications of those differences are anything but obvious. I'm saying that what we think is "nature" is often "nurture"--that we don't understand that interplay as much as we think. I think it's far more accurate to say that women are taught, by our culture and especially by the church, that we are supposed to make the choice to spend more time at home, that this is our role (and no one else's). It's very ironic to me that DeYoung uses this example, and then in the next chapter talks about our cultures over-obsession with parenting, and how parents get too busy with parenting because they think everything depends on them when it doesn't. Seems to me that this message is unevenly taught across genders.
Okay, now I'm tempted to go off the rails. The comment about, "Maybe Jane would be the most popular woman in her village in some other country. But, no matter the culture, there is something not quite right about Jane's decision making" (61). Thankfully, the author did acknowledge his USA-centric viewpoint in his writing. But why even include this comment about a village in some other country at all? The point could be made without throwing in that other nameless, but probably more provincial, area of the world, in which it is doubtlessly more difficult to discern the error in one's ways. Is that distracting to anyone but me? Okay, back to discerning what is helpful even if the narrator isn't perfect. (I remind myself that none is, least of all me if I could ever even write anything.)
"Parenting may be the last bastion of legalism. Not just in the church, but in our culture" (67). "It's harder to ruin our kids than we think and harder to stamp them for success than we'd like" (68). "I am responsible for my heart and must be responsible to teach my children the way of the Lord. But there's no sure fire input--say, the right mix of family devotions, Tolkien, and nutrition--that will infallibly produce the output we desire" (73) (ha!).
"If you keep burning the candle at both ends, sooner or later you will indulge in more and more mean cynicism--and the line between cynicism and doubt is a very thin one. Of course, different individuals require different numbers of hours of sleep; moreover, some cope with a bit of tiredness better than others. Nevertheless, f you are among those who become nasty, cynical, or even full of doubt when you are missing your sleep, you are morally obligated to try to get the sleep you need. We are whole complicated beings: our physical existence is tied up to our spiritual well-being, to our mental outlook, or our relationships with others, including our relationship with God. Sometimes the godliest thing you can do in the universe is get a good night's sleep--not pray all night, but sleep. I'm certainly not denying that there may be a place for praying all night; I'm merely insisting that in the normal course of things, spiritual discipline obligates you to get the sleep your body needs"--DA Carson quoted on p. 97 (holding in a tangent about this.....NEVERTHELESS...)
"I don't want you to think that hard work is the problem, or that suffering is necessarily the problem. If you have creativity, ambition, and love, you will be busy. We are supposed to disciple the nations. We are supposed to work with our hands. We are supposed to love God with our minds. We are supposed to have babies and take care of them. It's not a sin to be busy" (102). There is a difference, it seems, between busy and "crazy busy." "The antidote to busyness of soul is not sloth or indifference. The antidote is rest, rhythm, death to pride, acceptance of our finitude, and trust in the providence of God. The busyness that's bad is not the busyness of work, but the busyness that works hard at the wrong things" (like people pleasing, controlling others, etc) (102).
"One of the reasons we struggle so mightily with busyness is because we do not expect to struggle. Many Western Christians--and I'm chief among them--can easily live with the tacit assumption that we should not suffer....[Maybe we expect "big," momentous sufferings like cancer or job loss]...but day in and day out we don't expect to suffer. And the less we expect to suffer, the more devastating suffering becomes" (103).
Quoting Ajith Fernando: "To serve is to suffer....you will suffer if you are committed to people" (104).
"The one thing you must do"--be devoted=having a daily devotion??
"If you are sick and tired of feeling so dreadfully busy and are looking for a one-point plan to help restore order to your life, this is the best advice I know: devote yourself to the Word of God and prayer. This means public worship and private worship" (113).
"The pursuit of personal devotions is one of the strongholds of legalism. Anytime we talk about what we should do every day, we must make clear what Christ has already done for us. We can rest, because he worked" (114). "...the answer here is not simple willpower: 'I must spend more time with Jesus!' That won't last. We have to believe that hearing from God is our good portion. We have to believe that the most significant opportunity before us every day is the opportunity to sit at the feet of Jesus" (115).
Overall, a worthwhile read. I appreciated that DeYoung called out some unhealthy habits and harmful heart patterns about being frantically busy, but didn't turn it into a "just slow down" lecture. He esteemed hard work, and being devoted to service at personal cost. "If you have creativity, ambition, and love, you will be busy"=my favorite quote, I think. I also love the point that we should expect suffering. Seems that whether we do the stoic, stiff-upper-lip thing, or lament and feel all our feelings, we always seem surprised when suffering comes. Especially that daily kind. I love the encouragement that it is a normal part of doing life right in this broken world.
