“Busyness takes away from many opportunities.”
The point hit home again during an interview session with a dozen 4-H club members last week.
While being busy is important, getting something worthwhile accomplished is what counts.
There’s seldom any free time in our schedule, but that doesn’t mean we’re getting much done. Seemingly that’s the case with many.
Mr. Webster knows what we mean. He says: “Busyness is lively, but meaningless activity. It’s cluttered with detail to the point of being distracting.”
Concern is that young people are running around to so many school, sports, and busybody demands, they’re missing benefits of 4-H club work.
Conscientious essential to recognize another pet peeve: young people and many others constant looking at and punching cell phones. Whatever they’re doing, mostly we don’t understand.
Now, best to qualify that 4-H is a program to help young people become productive citizens by instructing them in useful skills, community service, and personal development.
From the fourfold aim of improving the head, heart, hands, and health, 4-H is a national organization started in 1926, spread down to states, counties and communities.
Involvement typically begins with exposure for six-year-olds through “Cloverbuds,” significant of the four-leaf clover being the 4-H emblem. Membership is open through “legal age,” and adults are key to 4-H as parents and leaders.
Dilemma is that many teenagers drop out of 4-H when they get in high school, as “busywork” takes precedence. “They’re missing out on so much,” insisted several older-still-active 4-H members we were interviewing.
It was National 4-H Week, and opportunities from continued involvement in 4-H were spotlighted.
Research from our Extension county agent contends “young people in 4-H are nearly four times more likely to contribute to their communities.”
But, the one thing that every 4-H member interviewed said: “4-H is fun.”
Many become busybodies searching for entertainment, while it can be readily found through 4-H participation.
Reminds us of Second Thessalonians 3:11: “Now we learn that you just loaf around and won’t do any work, except be a busybody.” Thus, evaluates First Peter 4:15: “You deserve to suffer if you are abusybody.”
Most importantly, First Corinthians 7:31: “Those in frequent contact with the existing things the world offers should make good use of their opportunities for the world in its present form will be gone.”
+++ALLELUIA+++
X–41–10-9-16