One of the addictions that I believe we tend to have as Americans is an addiction to being busy. Not necessarily to being productive, but to being busy. I dare you to look at your schedule for the week right now. How many things on your activities list are things that build you up as a person, or as a family? How many things on that schedule simply seem to be a time consumer, not really being of any overall benefit, but just calling for your time?
I have long believed that we Americans tend to have a hard time developing our priorities. Or maybe I should say that we tend to let others determine what has priority for us. We just hate to say no, or to let someone down, and so we agree, even if we don't have the time, or even if we end up giving a half-hearted effort simply because we are being pulled in so many ways. We find that the things we are involved in don't bring us joy, but we start to look at them as though "I have to do this" rather than, "I get to do this." And that makes a great deal of difference in how we participate, and in the effort we give.
I've read countless books that talk about listing out our priorities, and then saying no to the things that detract from what should be our highest priorities. There's a book out there called "Good to Great," in which the author suggests that the hardest thing to do is to say no to something good that simply won't lead us to greatness. I would suggest that this extends into our personal lives. We find so many good things to do that we don't have the time or effort to make one or two things great in our lives.
Jesus really seems to have an idea on how to focus on the great, and not get distracted by the good. We read stories about Him healing a few people, but I would dare to suggest that not everyone in the world got healed. It even says that Jesus didn't do some miracles in places such as His hometown, in part, at least, because of their lack of faith.
The thing is, Jesus could have made it His goal to do the good work of healing. But that would have then consumed His time and focus on doing the great, journeying to the cross to offer His life as the sacrifice for sin, and to rise to life again as our hope for new life. Jesus focused on the great, not to the exclusion of the good, but rather, giving the good it's proper priority in what He set out to accomplish.
As I take up my tasks at a new church, I know I'm going to be pulled in many different directions. There are always so many good things that we can do as God's people, and that we should be doing. One of my goals is to discover what the great things are that we can do as a congregation, and then give guidance toward them as our priority. Not that we intend to exclude the good, but that we keep the great in focus. And I pray that the LORD will give us His Spirit abundantly to discern what those "great" things are.
I have long believed that we Americans tend to have a hard time developing our priorities. Or maybe I should say that we tend to let others determine what has priority for us. We just hate to say no, or to let someone down, and so we agree, even if we don't have the time, or even if we end up giving a half-hearted effort simply because we are being pulled in so many ways. We find that the things we are involved in don't bring us joy, but we start to look at them as though "I have to do this" rather than, "I get to do this." And that makes a great deal of difference in how we participate, and in the effort we give.
I've read countless books that talk about listing out our priorities, and then saying no to the things that detract from what should be our highest priorities. There's a book out there called "Good to Great," in which the author suggests that the hardest thing to do is to say no to something good that simply won't lead us to greatness. I would suggest that this extends into our personal lives. We find so many good things to do that we don't have the time or effort to make one or two things great in our lives.
Jesus really seems to have an idea on how to focus on the great, and not get distracted by the good. We read stories about Him healing a few people, but I would dare to suggest that not everyone in the world got healed. It even says that Jesus didn't do some miracles in places such as His hometown, in part, at least, because of their lack of faith.
The thing is, Jesus could have made it His goal to do the good work of healing. But that would have then consumed His time and focus on doing the great, journeying to the cross to offer His life as the sacrifice for sin, and to rise to life again as our hope for new life. Jesus focused on the great, not to the exclusion of the good, but rather, giving the good it's proper priority in what He set out to accomplish.
As I take up my tasks at a new church, I know I'm going to be pulled in many different directions. There are always so many good things that we can do as God's people, and that we should be doing. One of my goals is to discover what the great things are that we can do as a congregation, and then give guidance toward them as our priority. Not that we intend to exclude the good, but that we keep the great in focus. And I pray that the LORD will give us His Spirit abundantly to discern what those "great" things are.
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