You don’t need to be busy to be valuable!

Today a busy person poses himself as valuable and worth more than someone who is quiet with less happening. Busyness is frequently treated as a status symbol rather than a reliable measure of true value or impact. Society has conditioned many people to tie their self-worth directly to their visible productivity, leading them to boast about packed schedules and constant motion to gain external approval. 

Research shows that toxic productivity culture has led 40% of workers to believe burnout comes with success. People’s unhealthy drive to stay productive affects their mental and physical health, personal relationships, and life quality.  Toxic productivity comes from an obsessive need to work constantly and accomplish tasks, whatever the cost to mental and physical health. Unlike healthy productivity that values balanced achievement and progress, toxic productivity comes from believing that your worth depends only on what you produce.

Our society sees busyness as a badge of honor instead of something potentially harmful. Studies show 61% of professionals think looking busy makes them appear more valuable. People often take on too much or talk about their packed schedules just to get others’ approval. This mindset becomes dangerous because it makes unhealthy work habits seem normal and pushes people to keep up an impossible pace.

The drive for productivity creates an odd situation. People work non-stop to feel accomplished but never feel satisfied — they just feel bad for not doing more. This pattern keeps repeating itself. It hurts both mind and body while making real fulfillment impossible.

You don’t need to be busy to be valuable. If you read the life history of Jesus, you would notice Jesus didn’t hustle to prove His worth- He moved slowly, intentionally, with peace. Your stillness isn’t wasted time. It’s sacred space. You’re still worthy even when you are not producing. 

What have we achieved more prior to few decades back when most of the thing was manual and conventional? Actually, not much.  We are forced to sacrifice so many things to make the ends meet. Life was peaceful then, people enjoyed quietness and better mental and emotional health compared to now. Today, we are working more, to earn more, to build better savings and have a big bank balance, just to find out that it has not helped much. We are constantly restless, that defines the age today. 

Ask God, Christ Jesus to bless you with quietness and rest. The Bible states, “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.” (Isaiah 30:15 Bible)  We keep pushing our edges as we are busy to sabotage our sanctity and sanity. While you ask Christ Jesus to help your shortcomings and repent from everything that hurts your body and soul you would find rest and salvation. I understand the demands of life is too much in our time, but you can reach unto God who invites us for rest.  The Bible emphasizes that “in quietness and trust is our strength.” Busyness may look like you have gained great worth, but true strength is found in quietness. You are valuable because you are made in His (God’s) image, therefore you don’t need to struggle to prove your self-worth or try harder to make things happen. Christ Jesus has provided all that you require to sustain you in this life and life yet to come with abundance and joy. Try to know Him more personally, a God who is a resurrected savior. 

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The game of comparison!

The problem of man is not having a need or meeting the need but comparing oneself with someone. The compared standard may be high to achieve; hence he/she ends up murmuring and disappointed. We have no dearth of comparisons. We have neighbors, friends, social media, colleagues to make us feel inferior… Man today is not content.  

Contentment for people have always been measurement by material things as they are tangibles. A recent news recorded a man in India who came to Dr Sunny Garg consultant oncologist and complained suffering from severe insomnia and anxiety. He said, "Doctor, I think I'm very poor. I can't sleep at night.". He earns around $42,000 (Rs 40 Lakh a year) drives a BMW, lives comfortably, and still says he feels poor. Dr Sunny Garg described this phenomenon as a form of "modern poverty", not the absence of money, but the inability to feel satisfied because expectations rise faster than income. 

According to the doctor, the man's reference point has shifted dramatically over the years. Instead of comparing himself with people from his hometown or those with more traditional careers, he now measures his success against startup founders, entrepreneurs, and social media personalities who have accumulated wealth worth tens or even hundreds of crores at a young age.

"Statistically, he's in the top 1% of earners in India. Yet he feels poor. Why? Because his reference point has shifted. Earlier, he compared himself to the neighbor in his village whose son worked as a clerk. Now he compares himself to a 28-year-old on LinkedIn who sold a startup and is sitting on Rs 80 crore," the doctor explained. Comparison is a race with no finish line. No matter how much you earn, there will always be someone richer. Contentment is one of the things money cannot buy.

There is also another problem with people who earn sufficiently yet find themselves in debt because of EMIs (monthly installments). Sometimes expenses are more than the income flow. A big percentage of people are trapped debt ridden in this way. I urge you to plan your income with wisdom and discretion. 

Don’t forget to acknowledge that you are blessed with a life and are surviving when millions ceased to exist. If you are still breathing, you are privileged.  You may have all the money you need and still never be satisfied and live securely. Position, money and things are never meant to satisfy human lives because you are made with a soul. Man can never be content with worldly things or religious obligations. Man needs to find His Creator not the one whom he has created as god but the true Saviour of your soul.  

The Bible records one of the best prayers from Agur son of Jakeh from the book of Proverbs 30:8 (Bible) "Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread". Anxiety increases when you have too little or too much. When God is your portion, you can stay content. King David in the book of Psalms acknowledges, "Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup of blessing; you hold my future". Jesus is not an idea of God but God, who was resurrected from death and is alive, a fact that cannot be easily ignored. When you trust this Jesus, you will not be apprehensive and find a need to compare with someone whom you assume to be richer than you but can stay content because He promised to never leave you nor forsake you in any circumstance.  

Resources: NEWS

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What do you fear losing?

Psychologically, the utmost fear of humans is losing loved ones to death or separation, followed closely by fear of losing health, control, financial security, and identity/cognitive ability. When you are in abundance, it builds your confidence, yet you can still be plagued by fear of losing it, subconsciously. It is completely natural to feel anxious about losing something you deeply value, whether it is a relationship, a skill, or a success you have worked hard to achieve. We start our life to acquire things starting from knowledge, skill, career, family and financial resource. Later, we strive to sustain them for our security. Surprisingly fear builds proportionally. 

Humans naturally cling to the things they love, forgetting that everything ultimately belongs to God. The fear arises when we mistakenly view gifts as our permanent possessions rather than blessings that are meant to be well stewarded. From a Christian perspective, the fear of losing things—whether material possessions, relationships, or status—stems from a fundamental human struggle between seeking earthly security and trusting in God’s provision. It is usually the misplaced security that leads to placing one's identity and sense of safety in temporary, worldly things instead of relying in the eternal unchanging nature of God. This can lead to anxiety and fear of loss.

Once we understand that we all would eventually cease to exist from this earth would shape our perspective about this present world and eternity. For all who understand the Christian worldview have a strong reason to believe that they will live for eternity as recorded in the Holy scripture, The Holy Bible. Frank Turek puts it beautifully when he says, “Christianity did not begin with a book, it began with an event, the resurrection.”. The resurrection of Jesus changed history. Christians believe this greatest event is the hope for current earthly existence and for future eternal life. Living with this eternal perspective will change your worldview and eradicate the fear of losing whatever concerns you. 

Christianity is not just a story, but about a God, Christ Jesus who incarnated to be human, walked amongst the people, did the natural and supernatural activities and gave the eternal perspective of life after death. People are sometimes stuck with a religion and with its rituals and duties that they no more understand God nor life better.  Erich Fromm states, “when people can’t handle God anymore, they turn to religion.” We equal God to religion and end up being religious without knowing God. Recalling to memory that Jesus defeated death and returned to life, infuses each day of our life with glory, reshaping the familiar into signposts of the new creation. The resurrection doesn’t simply promise transformation in some distant future, rather it brings relevancy to the present, infusing the world we inhabit-here and now-with the eternal.

Only this strong verified eternal perspective can remove the fear of losing what you have. You are a child of God, loved by a resurrected living God. He cares for you and intends to bless you with confidence. You can right away do a small prayer and ask Christ to give you the hope and confidence in Him. You don’t have to live in fear anymore. 

 

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Knowing to be known!

 

Knowing and to be known by somebody whom you know are two different things. Knowing people may include icons and celebrities but they may be unaware of our existence. For example, we may know our country president, and privy to all the details of his/her life, but it’s not the same vice versa. The system does not demand that we require a personal relationship with the leader of the country to survive or receive benefits in a country. We will live and die as strangers.

In a religious structure, knowing God is to follow cumbersome rituals and duties. people usually approach religion to either please God, to find attention and receive favor and blessings which translates into having enough wealth, luxury and good health. However, the God of the Bible narrates a different yet unique perspective altogether. It claims that He knows each one of us by our name. The book of Isaiah 43:1 (Bible), where God says, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine". Another well-known verse in the Bible about God's intimate, personal knowledge of us is Jeremiah 1:5 , which says, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you…". A fascinating claim from a God who created the heavens and the earth. We cannot know and reach God by any amount of our good works. The fact we are known by God makes an ultimate difference.  Paul who was a contemporary in the time of Jesus states this, 'But now, since you know God, or rather have become known by God…' (Galatians 4:9 Bible). What a fascinating revelation and truth. The greatest purpose of human life is to know God and the greatest privilege of human existence is to be known by God. If we are convinced with this fact, then life changes dramatically and we are transformed to live with a renewed comfortable position. 

You don’t need to struggle to know people of influence for a decent existence. When you are known by the God of the universe, you already have a special favor. You don’t have to run from pillar to post to please people, draw their attention to find favor. Here is a God who claims to know you by your name, in fact, He knows you before you were formed in your mother’s womb. His name is Jesus, a God whose life, death and resurrection is miraculous and historical. A God with moral elegance and holds all power over nature, sickness and death. He is unique because He raised people from death and He was resurrected from the grave. He is therefore a risen savior. Isn’t that satisfying? If He knows you already, then you need to know Him personally. There are no rituals and duties attached. Just grab a Bible, specifically the New Testament, and start by reading the book of John where you find the human purpose and the privilege of being known by a God of the universe. This will also give an eternal perspective, a specific roadmap to eternal life with God. This is no religion attached to it, but a pure relationship.

 

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