Badge of Busyness

Posted on by jactucke


Just the other night, I called my brother-in-law from California to talk over a few things. We chatted a little bit, you know…nothing earth shattering. It was all just small talk really. But then we got on the subject of busyness and he said something that I had heard a long time ago, but never really gave a thought to it. 

We talked about how busyness is a major yoke in people’s lives today. People always judge either how productive or how crappy their day was by their busyness. He said, “People wear it like a badge of honor, but it really is a yoke of burden.”

BOOM! That was a truth bomb right there. Our badge is also our yoke that holds us in bondage. You see, we are taught our entire lives that we need to keep busy. Our productivity is measured by how busy our days are. The busier, the better.

We really can’t formally measure busyness with a figure, but we can measure it by how we work and the way our duties are accomplished. You can have two people with the same amount of responsibilities. One may be able to get the list done in nine hours and say that they had the busiest day of their life. Whereas, the other person could knock out the same list in the same time and have a completely different outlook. It’s all in your perspective. 

Like I said earlier, we been trained that our productivity is measured by our busyness and that’s a problem. People aren’t wired the same. Everyone works at different paces, learns at different speeds and no “busyness” can be compared to another. But everyone wants to blame their shortcomings on being busy. 

I’ve done it. I can come home all tired and my oldest will ask, “You have busy days daddy?” She’s not even three yet and she knows about that badge that we wear like a sign. 

So what does the Word say about busyness. Jesus slammed it pretty hard with Mary and Martha. Go check it out in Luke 10:38-42. Martha was running around like a crazy woman, trying to prepare the meal for Jesus and the disciples and her sister was just chilling at the feet of Christ. Naturally, Martha was a little ticked. She even commented to Jesus about it. His response put her in her place:

“Martha, dear Martha, you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it—it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭10:41-42‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Martha was so busy, she missed out on the important thing: Jesus’ teaching in her own home! 

You see, you can become so preoccupied with life, so busy, that you miss out on important things: time with God, time with family or even a blessing. 

Now, I’m not saying that you should be all chilled out and not getting any work done. But you don’t need to be too busy that you neglect what’s important. 

Ecclesiastes 3 says there’s a time and a season for everything. It goes on with this: “Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.” (‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭3:11-13‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

God has a plan and a purpose for your life and it’s not to stay so busy that you miss His purpose for you. It’s all planned out by Him, we just need to stay in tune with what He says that we should do. 

How do we do that? How do we even begin to understand the plan that He has for our lives? Get in your Word. Get in a church that will teach you the uncomprimised Word of God. Surround yourself with people of like faith. Slow your life down. Don’t just quit working, but slow down enough to not let your plans overtake His plans. 

Take off that badge of busyness. Quit wearing it like a yoke around your neck. Quit letting it dictate your steps. Matthew 11:28 says “Come unto me all who are heavy burdened and I will give you rest.” Get some encouragement from my friend Coffey. Here’s his song “All Ye,” you’ll be blessed. 

Thanks for your time today. Y’all be safe out there. 

I’m sorry…ish

Posted on by jactucke


When a child gets caught doing something they aren’t supposed to do they immediately say, “I’m sorry.” They either feel a little remorse or they just don’t want to get in deeper trouble. 

Most of the time, they don’t want to get in more trouble than they already are in. This is the most basic of human instincts: self-preservation. 

Self-preservation will make people do all kinds of things. It will make them apologize for nothing or just to smooth over an altercation. It’ll make them say sorry just because “it’s the right thing to do.”

What does all of this have to do with our topic today? Well, all that being said, “I’m sorry” does not mean “forgive me.” 

Lots of times, the two phrases get tangled or misconstrued. We are raised to believe that they are one-in-the-same, interchangeable if you will. But they aren’t. Actually, they can’t be further from it. 

We’ve already established that self-preservation is a pretty basic human instinct, but, just for grins and giggles, let’s take a look at the definition. 

If any of you have lied at any time in your life, you know that this definition is true, especially when you saw your life flash before your eyes as the paddle swings towards your hindquarters. You knew it wouldn’t be as bad if you apologized or if you drug as many siblings down with you as possible. I digress.

Now on to forgiveness.Webster’s defines forgiveness as:


Now that’s a pretty good definition, but it’s a pretty good indicator why “I’m sorry” and “forgive me” are lumped together in the indistinguishable column. This is where we are going to start to separate the two. 

True forgiveness comes when one has a repentant heart. Meaning that they are truely remorseful for their actions. It’s not a knee jerk reaction to being caught, but a sincere, from the heart decision. Where does this logic come from? The Word of course!

In 2 Corinthians 7:10 it says, “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” Godly repentance will actually change things. A true repentant heart is necessary for one to achieve salvation through Christ. 

Well how do we know if we are truely repentant instead of just remorseful? Judas was remorseful for his betrayal of Jesus (Matt. 27:4.) Pharoah told Moses that he had sinned, but he just kept going forward with his actions (Ex. 9:27; 10:16.) But in Proverbs 28:13 it says that, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” That right there tells us that true forgiveness will follow true repentance. You can’t only drop a half truth on someone and expect that to be honored. 

We all have an obligation to seek forgiveness and to give forgiveness (Matt. 18:15) when we have wronged or have been wronged. But I believe, as in the same vein as salvation, to receive complete forgiveness, you have to come with an actual repentant heart. God will always forgive you and show grace (1 John 1:9) but you need to show a repentant heart, not just remorse for your actions. 

If in the end, you’ve done all of this. You’ve gone to God with a repentant heart and gone to those you have wronged with a repentant heart, the weight is now off of you and in their court. We’ve established that God will forgive you and cleanse you. People, on the other hand, will have a harder time with this. If they do what they have been instructed by God to do, you will be forgiven. But this doesn’t mean that things will just go back to normal. People are still…people. Trust has to be earned back and it may never go back to the olden days, but you can take heart that you have been forgiven. 

This may be a little heavy, but I know that there is a large group of people out there who need a little uplifting and guidance on this issue. Thanks for reading, y’all be safe out there. 

When seeking advice…

Posted on by jactucke


Have you ever asked for advice? I’m sure you have because even the meekest of decisions can usually require a little guidance.  

You most likely sought that counsel from someone you trusted, someone who had been in the position before, or at least a person who has a few years on you. 

The Word even talks about getting advice. Proverbs is chalk full of what God thinks about getting advice. Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future (Proverbs 19:20). Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed (Proverbs 15:22). Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety (Proverbs 11:14). And the verses just keep going. 

All that being said, there are two types of people who take this mantle: askers and seekers. Now, I know that both of these seem like these names are just describing the same thing, but listen to these descriptions. 
People identifying as “askers” are truly looking for advice. By that, I mean they are seeking Godly counsel, from Godly people. They don’t just talk to folks willy-nilly. Askers don’t have any ulterior motives or notions propelling them to any side. They are simply looking for guidance.

“Seekers” have a preconceived notion of what they want in their head and will go to numerous people (Goldy and otherwise) to seek out someone who thinks the same as themselves. Proverbs 28:26 says Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.

You see the problem in that? There is no wisdom there. You are only fooling yourself if you think that your “newfound advice” is even new at all. It’s just your own opinion wrapped in the guise of a few other people’s words.  

I have run into both types of these people in all my travels and let me tell ya, beware the seekers. They have become people who drain you of time and energy with zero intention of utilizing your counsel. 

Now, am I saying that you shouldn’t seek advice from anyone? No, that’s not it at all. I’m just saying that you should seek Godly counsel when you are looking for advice and not running from person to person looking for your own answer. 

Psalm 1:1-6 says this: Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 

So seek Godly counsel and don’t becomes merely a seeker of your own ideas in other people. 

It feels good to be back. I took a little time off to focus on some other things, but now I’m back. If you have any other comments or additions, please leave them below. Have a great day!