The Tyranny of the Urgent

Today, Thursday December 31 – Romans 14:7-12 - The Tyranny of the Urgent! As we review this past year and prepare for a new year tomorrow, I felt led to remind us that we should be aware of how the urgent things we deal with every day can easily keep us from doing the important things. It would be a great tragedy to look back over your life and realize that you stayed very very busy doing good things but never really accomplishing the important things that would have counted for time and eternity before a Holy God. We live in the day of the weapons of “mass distractions.” We can so easily be distracted with the immediate and sometimes actual necessary needs of those around us, that we put off doing the important things for tomorrow. But tomorrow never seems to come. We live in constant tension between the urgent and the important. Extra time in prayer and Bible study, a visit with a non-Christian friend, careful study of an important book – these projects can wait. But the urgent tasks call for instant action – endless demands pressure every hour and day! Is there any escape from this pattern of living? Of course there is! The answer is found in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. At thirty-three years of age, He said to His Father, “I have finished the work which You gave me to do.” As we close out the old year, by God’s grace, determine you will spend a few minutes each morning in a quiet time of meditation and prayer that refocuses your relationship with the Lord. Recommit yourself to His will as you think of the hours that follow. List in order of priority the task to be done and resist the temptation to let the urgent things distract you! God bless you as you begin a Great New Year!