Busy Isn’t Harmless
I heard a story this morning while working out that stuck with me.
There was a man working for a church in a rough part of town, the kind of place where you stay aware. So he carried a Glock in his backpack. He described it as his God-given right. Whether we agree with a pastor carrying a pistol or not, try to stay with the story, it’s going somewhere. He wasn’t trying to make a statement, just being wise for where he was. That was his position, and that’s fair enough for me.
That day was packed. One of those days where everything matters and everyone needs something. He was serving, pouring out, doing what he was called to do, as he described it. A good man doing good things.
And as soon as that event wrapped up, he didn’t get a break, he had to head straight to the airport. He was flying across the country to speak at a conference. Different city, different room, same mission.
He grabs his backpack, meets up with his wife and another pastor, and heads to the airport. He’s got PreCheck, so he jumps in line. It’s slow. It’s been a long day. His mind is already moving to what’s next. He’s focused, or at least trying to be, on his next event. Doing everything right, just preparing.
Everything changes when TSA walks up and says,
“Is this your bag?”
“And is this your gun?”
Next thing he knows, he’s in handcuffs. His wife and the other pastor are freaking out, they had already gone through ahead of him, and now he’s sitting in a holding cell in the basement of the airport.
Here’s what hit me:
He wasn’t doing anything wrong.
He was actually doing a lot of things right.
But in the hustle, he missed something he normally would have caught if life had been moving slower.
He was serving. Showing up. Carrying responsibility. Moving with purpose.
He just got busy… and lost awareness.
And if we’re honest, that’s how most people lose what matters most.
Not rebellion. Not some big moral failure.
Just slow drift.
We get busy with life and responsibilities, and before we know it, something important gets missed, and we end up paying for it.
We don’t plan to neglect our faith.
We don’t plan to disconnect from our spouse and family.
We don’t intend to fail in major ways.
We just get busy.
Busy building. Busy providing. Busy chasing the next thing that feels important.
And while we’re doing all that… the real things start slipping.
Faith doesn’t usually collapse, it fades.
Families don’t explode, they erode.
And it all happens while we’re “doing good things.”
That’s the danger.
Because being busy can feel like you’re winning… while you’re actually losing ground where it matters most.
So here’s my check for today:
I’m going to slow down long enough to ask myself, what am I carrying right now?
Where is my attention actually going?
Am I present where it matters… or just productive where it’s loud?
Be intentional.
Because the things that matter most in your life won’t usually be taken from you…
They’ll be lost while you’re too busy to notice.