How doth the little busy Bee
Improve each shining Hour,
And gather Honey all the day
From every opening Flower!
How skillfully she builds her Cell!
How neat she spreads the Wax!
And labours hard to store it well
With the sweet Food she makes.
In works of Labour or of Skill
I would be busy too:
For Satan finds some Mischief still
For idle Hands to do.
In Books, or Work, or healthful Play
Let my first Years be past,
That I may give for every Day
Some good Account at last.
– “Against Idleness and Mischief” by Isaac Watts
Idleness and mischief – the two go hand in hand. And both are held in the hands of a busybody. In his poem, Isaac Watts presents the perfect solution for the tendency to idleness and mischief: we must follow in the example of the “little busy bee” and set ourselves to a productive lifestyle. The Bible presents much the same solution for idleness…
For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies. Now we command and exhort such persons in the Lord Jesus Christ to work peacefully and eat their own bread. – 2 Thessalonians 3:11-12 (emphasis added)
Read: get to work! Ironically, the cure for being a busybody is being a busy body – or in other words, keeping your body busy. Paul expounds on this cure with specific directions for women:
At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also they become gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention. Therefore, I want younger widows to get married, have children, manage their households, and give the enemy no opportunity for reproach. – 1 Timothy 5:13-14 (emphasis added)
What does Paul cite as the cure for idleness and mischief? Homemaking! A woman can learn to be an idle, gossiping busybody, or she can learn to focus on her family. She can learn to be a worker at home. (Titus 2:4-5)
My goal today is to help you learn to be a worker at home. I am going to teach you how to be a “busy body” in 8 simple steps. Step #1 is to…
A good homemaker keeps her body busy by beautifying the home.
- She beautifies the home by purifying it. A portion of her time is devoted to cleaning activities; such as wiping counters, sweeping/mopping floors, tending to dishes and laundry, etc.
- She beautifies the home by decorating it. A portion of her time is devoted to cultivating style; such as art, plants, collections, etc. (Keeping ever before her mind her husband’s tastes and desires)
- She beautifies the home by warming it. A portion of her time is devoted to creating ambience; such as pleasant fragrances, mood lighting, and agreeable temperature.
Making a home a beautiful haven of rest for one’s family is a worthwhile pursuit…and it will certainly keep a body busy.
Beautify! Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine within your house… – Psalm 128:3a
How to be a Busy Body Step #2 is to…
A good homemaker keeps her body busy by organizing the home.
- She organizes the home by minimalism. She avoids excessive buying, so that there is never an over-abundance of items to be organized. She buys intentionally rather than impulsively.
- She organizes the home by tidying. She doesn’t take the path of least resistance and hodgepodge the family belongings into every nook and cranny. Her motto is “a place for everything, and everything in its place”.
- She organizes the home by consistency. She keeps items picked up throughout the day so that the piles don’t become insurmountable tasks. She doesn’t merely organize once in a great while, but keeps a workable system of good habits for herself and the children.
Making a home an organized haven of rest for one’s family is a worthwhile pursuit…and it will certainly keep a body busy.
Organize! …What woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? – Luke 15:8
How to be a Busy Body Step #3 is to…
A good homemaker keeps her body busy by decluttering the home.
- She declutters the home by giving away items her family no longer uses. She is generous, and pleased to find someone who can put the items to good use. When the garment no longer fits, or the toy is outgrown, or the book has past its purpose…she considers it a blessing to pass it on for another family’s enjoyment.
- She declutters the home by selling off items her family no longer uses. She is shrewd in adding to her husband’s income by recovering some of the money on gently used belongings. She might sell items online, take them to a local consignment shop, or host a garage sale.
- She declutters the home by throwing out items her family no longer uses. She knows the difference between healthy sentimentality and hoarding, and is not afraid to throw out anything that is not worthy of giving away or selling. She is okay with letting go.
Making a home a decluttered haven of rest for one’s family is a worthwhile pursuit…and it will certainly keep a body busy.
Declutter! A time to search and a time to give up as lost; a time to keep and a time to throw away. – Ecclesiastes 3:6
How to be a Busy Body Step #4 is to…
A good homemaker keeps her body busy by bringing yield to the home.
- She yields for the home with her culinary skills. She cooks and bakes delicious and nutritious foods for her family to enjoy. She is pleased to see others enjoy the fruit of her kitchen labors.
- She yields for the home with her crafting skills. She dabbles perhaps in needlework (sewing, crocheting, knitting, etc.), or art (drawing, painting, etc.), or music (singing, playing an instrument, etc.). She is pleased to see others enjoy the fruit of her creative labors.
- She yields for the home with her composition skills. She maybe writes a thank you note, or pops a birthday card in the mail, or sends a suggestive text to her husband. She is pleased to see others enjoy the fruit of her conversational labors.
Making a home a yielding haven of rest for one’s family is a worthwhile pursuit…and it will certainly keep a body busy.
Yield! Give her the product of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates. – Proverbs 31:31
How to be a Busy Body Step #5 is to…
A good homemaker keeps her body busy by beatifying the home. (Beatify = sanctify, hallow, consecrate)
- She beatifies the home by acknowledging God’s will for her as a woman. She does not consider being a wife, mother, and homemaker an antiquated or oppressive role in society. She humbly accepts the differences between men and women as God-ordained and therefore intrinsically good.
- She beatifies the home by submitting to God’s will for her as a woman. She is obedient to her husband, nurturing to her children, and committed to the home. She is firmly planted in her femininity.
- She beatifies the home by growing in God’s will for her as a woman. She strives every day to be a better wife, a better mom, a better homemaker. She is not content with the mediocre, but is on a perpetual level-up journey.
Making a home a beatified haven of rest for one’s family is a worthwhile pursuit…and it will certainly keep a body busy.
Beatify! The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands. – Proverbs 14:1
How to be a Busy Body Step #6 is to…
A good homemaker keeps her body busy by unplugging the home.
- She unplugs the home by minimizing her social media usage. She is too invested in her own family responsibilities to be concerned about keeping up with the Joneses. She is aware that too much social media can open the door to jealousy, comparisons, covetousness, etc. and is watchful of her feminine temptations.
- She unplugs the home by minimizing her telephone calls. She will not go house-to-house as a busybody, even through the air waves. She is aware that too many telephone calls can open the door to gossip, slander, foolish talk, etc. and is watchful of her feminine temptations.
- She unplugs the home by minimizing her social visits. She knows she can not rightly be a “keeper at home” when her feet do not abide at home. She knows that too many social visits can open the door to familial neglect, discontentment, unhealthy relationships, etc. and is watchful of her feminine temptations.
Making a home an unplugged haven of rest for one’s family is a worthwhile pursuit…and it will certainly keep a body busy.
Unplug! …Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you. – 1 Thessalonians 4:11
How to be a Busy Body Step #7 is to…
A good homemaker keeps her body busy by scheduling the home.
- She schedules the home in a timely manner. She makes good use of planners, phone reminders, or timers to keep herself on task and make sure her home priorities are done at appointed times. She does not make a habit of procrastination, but is faithful to her duties.
- She schedules the home in a realistic manner. She is not rigid and inflexible, but makes allowances for unexpected hiccups that prevent work from being done. She adjusts to special circumstances, but does not use them as excuses for laziness.
- She schedules the home in a balanced manner. She evenly distributes tasks throughout the week to prevent burnout. She delegates age-appropriate tasks to the children to both ease her burden and give them training in their own work ethics.
Making a home a scheduled haven of rest for one’s family is a worthwhile pursuit…and it will certainly keep a body busy.
Schedule! Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. – Colossians 3:23-24
How to be a Busy Body Step #8 is to…
A good homemaker keeps her body busy by yearning for the home.
- She yearns for the home because she loves her husband. She makes love to her man, she finds ways to please him, she shows preference for him, etc. She not only knows her place as a wife, but she loves her place as a wife.
- She yearns for the home because she loves her children. She trains them, she builds them up with words of encouragement, she exercises patience towards them, etc. She not only knows her place as a mother, but she loves her place as a mother.
- She yearns for the home because she loves her home. She makes it a clean place, a cozy place, a caring place, etc. She not only knows her place in the home, but she loves her place in the home.
Making a home a yearned for haven of rest for one’s family is a worthwhile pursuit…and it will certainly keep a body busy.
Yearn! So that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children…workers at home… – excerpt from Titus 2:4-5
In conclusion…
If you want to learn how to be a busy body, remember to:
Beautify
Organize
Declutter
Yield
Beatify
Unplug
Schedule
Yearn
Keep your B.O.D.Y. B.U.S.Y. with these 8 steps, and you’ll be a busy body in no time…in fact, you’ll be so invested in your own home that you’ll simply have no time to be a busybody!
She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. – Proverbs 31:27
For God’s glory,
Mrs. Dustin Bolks
Chaste Bolks is a church of Christ preacher’s wife, and the home educating mother of two children. She and her family currently reside in Northwest Iowa.
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