EPISODE · Jan 26, 2026 · 3 MIN
Urgency (January 26)
from Enthusiastic Ideas · host Gary Henry
URGENCY (JANUARY 26)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/urgency-january-26/"We cannot put off living until we are ready. The most salient characteristic of life is its coerciveness; it is always urgent, 'here and now' without any possible postponement. Life is fired at us point blank" (José Ortega y Gasset).IN MANY CASES, WHATEVER IS WORTH DOING IS NOT ONLY WORTH DOING WELL; IT’S WORTH DOING RIGHT NOW. When we know there is some good thing to be done and it would be best to tend to it immediately, procrastination is a dangerous, opportunity-wasting maneuver. In matters of conscience, certainly, we would be better off if we were people whose inward character had more urgency. “Life is fired at us point blank,” as the quotation above reminds us — and it’s usually a mistake to duck or run away from the daily duties that make up our lives. “Now!” is a beneficial frame of mind.Much has been written about the bad habit of letting our lives be consumed by the trivial things that demand our attention, while more important matters go undone. To whatever extent we can distinguish between “urgent” and “important,” we do need to resist the tyranny of things that are urgent but not important. I don’t deny that. But when I recommend urgency as a positive character trait, I’m saying that we ought to grant a greater urgency to the things that are important — our definition of what’s urgent needs to change.Almost everybody has had the experience of being given a gift by somebody who couldn’t wait for us to open it. When we said, “Thanks, I look forward to finding out what it is,” they said, “Go ahead! Open it! Open it!” Do we mind that kind of urgency? Are we put off by it? Certainly not. And the point is that we should be giving our very selves to our loved ones with that kind of eagerness. Love has a beautiful urgency about it — and so does friendship.Whether or not we show a healthy measure of urgency in our hearts probably depends on how we see life in general. The most delightfully urgent people I know happen to be people whose basic response to life is “Yes!” Whatever difficulties they may have to endure, their overarching attitude toward their place in the world is one of gratitude. I’m as realistic about the problems in our world as you are, but I maintain that there is still a good bit of grace to be found and acted upon. The right response to today’s grace is a hearty “Yes!”"The day is short, the labor long, the workers are idle, the reward is great, and the Master is urgent" (Mishnah).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
What this episode covers
URGENCY (JANUARY 26)View on Website -- https://wordpoints.com/urgency-january-26/"We cannot put off living until we are ready. The most salient characteristic of life is its coerciveness; it is always urgent, 'here and now' without any possible postponement. Life is fired at us point blank" (José Ortega y Gasset).IN MANY CASES, WHATEVER IS WORTH DOING IS NOT ONLY WORTH DOING WELL; IT’S WORTH DOING RIGHT NOW. When we know there is some good thing to be done and it would be best to tend to it immediately, procrastination is a dangerous, opportunity-wasting maneuver. In matters of conscience, certainly, we would be better off if we were people whose inward character had more urgency. “Life is fired at us point blank,” as the quotation above reminds us — and it’s usually a mistake to duck or run away from the daily duties that make up our lives. “Now!” is a beneficial frame of mind.Much has been written about the bad habit of letting our lives be consumed by the trivial things that demand our attention, while more important matters go undone. To whatever extent we can distinguish between “urgent” and “important,” we do need to resist the tyranny of things that are urgent but not important. I don’t deny that. But when I recommend urgency as a positive character trait, I’m saying that we ought to grant a greater urgency to the things that are important — our definition of what’s urgent needs to change.Almost everybody has had the experience of being given a gift by somebody who couldn’t wait for us to open it. When we said, “Thanks, I look forward to finding out what it is,” they said, “Go ahead! Open it! Open it!” Do we mind that kind of urgency? Are we put off by it? Certainly not. And the point is that we should be giving our very selves to our loved ones with that kind of eagerness. Love has a beautiful urgency about it — and so does friendship.Whether or not we show a healthy measure of urgency in our hearts probably depends on how we see life in general. The most delightfully urgent people I know happen to be people whose basic response to life is “Yes!” Whatever difficulties they may have to endure, their overarching attitude toward their place in the world is one of gratitude. I’m as realistic about the problems in our world as you are, but I maintain that there is still a good bit of grace to be found and acted upon. The right response to today’s grace is a hearty “Yes!”"The day is short, the labor long, the workers are idle, the reward is great, and the Master is urgent" (Mishnah).Gary Henry - WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
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Urgency (January 26)
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