May the 4th Be With You and More Important Things to Say Today

Recently, I've received some interesting comments in the form of compliments, that while flattering, they also carry with them an implied, yet unintended, harsh criticism.  Its challenged me in various ways, causing me to make small changes that have significant impact.  It's useless to explain that in further detail as doing so would only further the problem.  Its better to just get busy blogging...

... and other things.

In my life, the urgent often overwhelms the important.  Its the nature of my job as pastor.  I suspect that is true for many people in other jobs too.  Ironically, getting done what is important actually reduces what is urgent.

When the urgent parts of my job overwhelm the important things I need to do with my family, my family suffers.   However, when I am taking care of the important with my family, there is understanding and margin for the time needed for the urgent at work when it comes up.

When I spend all day responding to the urgent at my job, the important things that I need to do, the things that can only be done my me, either don't get done or in some cases, they get done with less care than they require.  But when I get the important done first, many of the urgent things take care of themselves as people find solutions to their own issues and answers to their own questions.

Right now,  I have very urgent matters to tend to.  I have people who need my help, people who need my opinion, people who need to be angry with me, people I need to visit, and tons of people who need me to respond to their email/text/IM/Twitter/Voicemail/Facebook message...  all of that and more needs to get done right now.

But I can't let those urgent things prevent me from accomplishing some other important things.  I need to teach, to lead, to focus, to write, to study, to pray, to think and to accomplish the things that I am most gifted at and do them extremely well.  Yes, I have to get to those other things, and its not that they aren't important.  But if I don't do the former and do it well, it will generate more of the latter.  I already have more of the latter than there is time to handle.

Having fun is important too, by the way.  Leaders who don't take time for fun are no fun and will only lead others who don't have fun and that is really not fun.  You have permission to quote me on that.

So here's some fun.

Today is International Star Wars Day: May the 4th be with you.

HA!  Admit it, that's fun. 

So, while this posting may seem to be not all that important, the urgent has pushed it off for months.  And this is important.  Really.

So now, off to more important things.  The urgent will be taken care of, but it will also wait a little while longer.

SCF