Quote by Albert-László Barabási

by Jason Owens

How many times have you said “I will get to that tomorrow” or thought “I will restore that relationship later”? If you are like me then you have thought these things all too often.
Unfortunately many of us suffer from what is called “the tyranny of the urgent” according to Charles Hummel. This concept means we focus on what “must” be done because of its seeming urgency instead of what is often more important. In the home it may be that our concern is keeping a particular lifestyle, at the expense of our family, and the truth is that family is more important. In your personal life it may be ignoring the need to restore a broken relationship. Thus, you focus on everyday tasks until one day that person dies and restoration is no longer possible. This can take on many forms at home, work or in your personal life but for Christians recognizing this tendency can have a dramatic impact.
At LakeRidge we have recently been engaged in an all church experience based on Craig Groeschel’s book Altar Ego. The focus of this experience is to see yourself as God sees you, placing others thoughts of you and any false ideas you have of yourself at the altar of the Lord. However, I see something strange happening in our church – people are putting this idea off because others issues are at the forefront of their minds. We must STOP letting the urgent agenda push aside what Scripture declares valuable. God wants us to see ourselves the way He sees us – not the way the world, others or we may see ourselves. God wants us to live into the standard He has set for us of exemplifying sacrificial holy love – not some standard someone or something else sets for us. We cannot live into God’s standard without allowing Him free reign, letting Him give us new eyes to see ourselves and grasp what is possible through the Holy Spirit.
As we move into the hectic nature of the fall I implore you, friends, to focus on what truly matters in your time on earth. Let God work on you. Give Him time. Ask God where He wants to start in you and let Him go. Do not delay. Time is the one thing we use that we never get back and you don’t want to miss the chance to have a more fully abundant life in Christ because you were focused on the urgency of getting everything on your to-do list marked off.
Ephesians 5:15-16 “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time…”