I just reread this book: DeYoung, Kevin. Crazy Busy: A (Mercifully) Short Book about a (Really) Big Problem. Crossway, 2013.

The first time I read it was back in 2013. It convicted me then. It convicted me again.

This is what I wrote about it eleven years ago:

Point: Business is a part of life, but it doesn’t have to rule your life.

Path: DeYoung gives three dangers to avoid (ch 2): 1) Business can ruin our joy. 2) Business can rob our hearts. 3) Business can rot our souls. He then gives seven diagnoses to consider (chs 3– 9) including pride, trying to play God, unidentified priorities, false parenting conceptions, the effect technology plays, rest, and expectations. The author finishes by giving one thing we are to do (ch 10), and that is to know Christ.

Sources: Personal experience, Scriptural principles, various authors on productivity and rest.

Agreement: Here are some of the things I appreciated about this book:

It was short

The author is sympathetic

He has a good chapter on pride

He has a good chapter on parenting

He recognizes that all business is not sin

He pointed me to Jesus

Disagreement: I would disagree with very little of what he said. It would have been nice on one hand to have someone who has been in the trenches of business and has come to tell us, rather than someone who is trying to crawl out with you. However, that is also one of the positives of the book.

Personal App: What am I busy with?

Favorite Quote: Here is just one of the many that made me think “If someone recorded your life for a week and then showed it to a group of strangers, what would they guess is the “good portion” in your life? What would they conclude is the one thing you must get done every day?”

Here are some other quotes from my latest rereading:

Just remember the most serious threats are spiritual. When we are crazy busy, we put our souls at risk. The challenge is not merely to make a few bad habits go away. The challenge is to not let our spiritual lives slip away (loc. 240)

When our lives are frantic and frenzied, we are more prone to anxiety, resentment, impatience, and irritability. (loc. 246)

What does it say about me that I’m frequently overwhelmed? What do I need to learn about myself? What biblical promises am I not believing? What divine commands am I ignoring that I should obey? What self-imposed commands am I obeying that I should ignore? What’s going on in my soul, so that busyness comes out as my chief challenge every year? (loc. 300)

We have to be okay with other Christians doing certain good things better and more often than we do. (loc. 523)