The Problem with Performance

"Busyness is not a spiritual gift."
From an interview with ~ Lisa Harper ~

My little Isabella has been growing so fast. She is walking, trying to talk, and attempting to be a little “helper.” Yesterday I watched her grab a broom and try to sweep the kitchen floor. She moved awkwardly, yet she was working as hard as her little 13 month body would allow. She stopped when she saw me, dropped the broom , grinned and began to clap. I knew that was my cue to stop and applaud as well, “Yea Izzie! Good job!” Pleased by the praise she had received, she then toddled off.

As I watched her I realized that at such a young age, she had understood that she was being praised for her performance! Now of course she has not grasped that entire concept, however I began to think back that at each and every accomplishment she had made, we would applaud and cheer for her. The more we would reward her with praise, the more she would perform. She delighted in the praise and attention we gave her for her effort and accomplishments.

Isn’t that what we do sometimes? We keep ourselves so busy so we can relish in the affection, attention, and praise we might receive because we have become performance based. We want everything to be perfect and if it is not we might lose our focus, get frustrated or just give up.

However, as I have been pondering Lisa Harper’s statement, “Busyness is not a spiritual gift,” I have started to realize that God has not called us to be perfect- or busy. He’s called us to Him. And He desires nothing more than we please Him with the gifts, tools, and abilities He has given us, but not to the demise of ourselves or anyone else.

Our society has become obsessed with being “busy” because we have grown accustomed to being performance based. As children we were praised for good grades, completing chores and for cleaning our plate. As we grew into young adults, we were pressed to work harder to get the praise, and as adults, we over schedule, under sleep, over stimulate, and over commit so we feel like we have “performed” well enough.

I am guilty. Let me be the first one to say it! “Hi, my name is Tara and I am a “busy-oholic…”

There’s nothing wrong with gushing over our kids when they do something great, but at the same time, let’s teach them through our own behavior that pleasing God by loving Him and being obedient to Him is enough.