I'm sure you have heard of people running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. I have no picture of that, but I have killed chickens, and it is hilarious to watch them run around after their head is cut off. Eventually, they flop over. That's how many of us live our lives on a daily basis. We run around all day, and then flop over exhausted in the evening.
Think about it. Out of the eighty three things I did yesterday only five are absolutely necessary. Yes, it is true too often. We are busy, but often busy doing things that don't matter. And it leaves us exhausted at day's end.
Jesus was never busy, never in a hurrry. Right. You and I are not Jesus. But I bet each of know and can identify the things that really matter.
Here are my big five. Number 21 or 37 on my list of things probably doesn't matter. These five do.
1. Prayer. I cannot expect to survive and thrive apart from prayer. We kid ourselves if we think we can do life apart from God and His divine help. Also under prayer I would include any of the spiritual disciplines like fasting, giving, Bible reading, solitude, etc.
2. Preparation. For me this is the time I spend preparing messages. This includes reading, listening to other speakers, and searching the Bible for timeless principles to share.
3. Preaching. The actual delivery of the message is huge. I learned a long time ago that a great delivery void of good content is well received, and a bad delivery with good content is not well received. I try to have good content, but I know I cannot overlook the delivery.
4. People. Ministry is about people, so I carve time out for people. I may meet two days one week and six days the following week with people. The point is people are important.
5. Personal. This is somewhat of a catch all. This category includes things like time with Carol. If my marriage is suffering then my life and ministry are going to suffer as well. There is no way I can afford to overlook this. Also, I connect with my kids regularly. I may text Heather, talk with Rachel, text and talk with Savannah, have a long discussion with Adam, and play golf with Gabe. And I must get regular exercise. For me this includes playing full court basketball with younger guys, push mowing part of the lawn, hiking with Carol, and lifting weights.
Go ahead, identify and list your five or six things. Get those done and when you lay your head down tonight you will be more satisfied and feel more productive.
