Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung

Crazy Busy: A (Mercifully) Short Book about a (Really) Big Problem is kind of like the antithesis (check meaning of word) to Overextended and Loving Most Of It. At least it seems like this to me (Suddenly, I found books that take two different viewpoints, which is really fun for me to read!).

This book takes a look at why we are so busy, and how we can handle it. It doesn't say that all busyness is bad, but rather, it encourages us to take a look to see if our busyness is Godly. The reasons he gave for busyness was pride, a sense of obligation and lack of priorities. Of the three, pride and obligation made a lot of sense to me - how many times do we accept just one more task because we think we're the only people who can handle it? How many times do we take on more work because 'we have to'? And when it came to the sense of total obligation, I thought the following passage was very apt:

Surely there are many Christians who are terribly busy because they sincerely want to be obedient to God. We hear sermons that convict us for not praying more. We read books that convince us to do more for global hunger. We talk to friends who inspire us to give more and read more and witness more. The needs seem to urgent. The workers seem so few. If we don't do something, who will? We want to be involved. We want to make a difference. We want to do what's expected of us. But there just doesn't seem to be the time. 

All in all, this book makes the case for making sure that we don't let our crazy schedules drown out the voice of God. It's something that I need to work on, which makes this a very timely wake-up call for me.

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.