Trapped in the Busyness of Life
"Most things which are urgent are not important, and most things which are important are not urgent."
Dwight D Eisenhower
I don't think I fully agree with that - but I think he is onto something. We can get so busy in life with what feels 'urgent', with what is demanded of us, with people's expectations - that we forget to work on what is 'important'.
It's true in marriage - there are a hundred and one things demanding your attention in life - taking an evening with your wife rarely feels 'urgent', it rarely feels like there will be a crisis unless you take a couple of hours to just 'chill' with her!
But if we only deal with the 'urgent' and forget about the 'important' things, then 5 years from now I will only have spent a handful of evenings with my wife and it will be because our marriage is on the brink of disaster. But if I spend my time on what is 'important' - then 5 years down the line I will have spent one evening a week getting to know my wife better and building a stronger marriage. Those evenings may rarely feel 'urgent' at the time but 5 years from now they will have been the most 'important' investment of time.
It's true in our work - whatever role you have, you can become prisioner to what feels like the most urgent task to do - but tell me... 5 years from now where do you want to be, where do you want your business/school/organisation to be? It should be that goal that helps us to decide...
'What is important NOW'?
As a church our goal is to be 'Connecting People in Christ'. We don't want to be over busy with programmes and events - we what to be building Christ-centred relationships.