Crazy Busy - A Book Review

How ironic is it that it took me over three weeks from when I finished a book called "Crazy Busy" until I actually wrote a book review of it on my blog. Probably sounds like the book didn't have much of an impact on me, huh? Perhaps. However, this is a great book packed with sound, biblical advice on a topic that most everyone I know struggles with.  I appreciate the writings of Kevin DeYoung.  He mixes together a sound grasp on biblical theology with direct application to the problems most people in our culture face. In doing so, he really helps Christians tackle issues from a Scriptural perspective rather than doling out recycled platitudes or giving personal opinion and self-help advice with a token Bible verse attached. He also mixes into his writing a quick wit and practical humor which keeps the average Christian reader more engaged on the subject.

Crazy Busy delivers exactly what the subtitle suggests: a (mercifully) short book about a (really) big problem.  DeYoung's book is 10 chapters spread out over 118 pages. This means that he moves through topics pretty fast, but still provides a lot of depth. He doesn't spend tons of pages on stringing out all the biblical exegesis he has done, but the way he deals with topics shows that he has indeed done a solid job of textual hermanuetics.  The bulk of the chapters deals with seven diagnoses of the spiritual reasons why some believers are potentially allowing themselves to overcommit, commit to the wrong things, not learn how to say "no", or running themselves ragged.

Personally, I found in each of these seven diagnoses something I was guilty of.  However, the beauty of Kevin's book is that his purpose is not to make us feel guilty about our busyness.  His purpose is to point out the spiritual reasons and implications of our busyness and then point us back to our grounding in the gospel and our identity in Christ. DeYoung doesn't just say, "Stop doing this", but he continually takes us back to what Scripture says to show us that a proper understanding of the gospel is the fuel for our busyness problems and that we often struggle with busyness because we have allowed ourselves to base our identity on something other than the gospel.

This is a great book that I would highly recommend to all Christians.  It would be a great read during some of your time off during the Christmas season. It might be better for some of you to read it before you start stressing out about the busyness of Christmas shopping. If you think you are too busy to read a book, that's all the more reason why you should get it. My small group and I are going to be working through it starting in January.

Here's a video of Kevin DeYoung talking about the book:
Busyness is Bad for You: A brief word from Kevin about the dangers of busyness from Crossway on Vimeo.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from Crossway Books for review and publication on this blog. I was not required to write a positive review of the book or its author.