Priorities, Priorities…

I love to get things done. It is a very satisfying feeling to see a to do list with everything checked off. I’ve been like this for as long as I can remember. Looking back on a job completed has always given me a sense of accomplishment. Because of this, all of my jobs before becoming a pastor had this characteristic to them.

But becoming a pastor changed that. No longer could success be measured by what was accomplished. Especially living on the mission field in Costa Rica. Both the culture and the ministry are relational in nature. This is great because I love to build relationships with people. But when I go a few days without getting things done on my to do list, I start to feel the weight of the tasks at hand.

The temptation to put relational opportunities on hold begins to creep in as the task list starts to feel more like a disgruntled task master who is being neglected.

This usually means putting my head down and trying to get something… anything, done. Of course, when these periods begin to drag on, I begin to feel guilty for putting off relational opportunities. And so the crazy cycle continues. Jumping from one urgent thing to the next leaves you tired, and feeling ineffective. I’m beginning to learn that the only way to break this cycle is to change my perspective. When it comes to getting things done, we have to keep it all in context. The reality is that both things are part of the work that God has called us to do. If we are going to find any balance, we need to learn to continually evaluate what is important. We must ask “What are the Lord’s priorities for today?”

We are servants. We serve Christ and His people. In order to do this effectively we must be spending time with the Lord daily. As we make our plans for the day, we need to “write them in pencil and give God the eraser”. Only then can we operate in the freedom of Christ. There will always be more to do in a day than we are able to accomplish. But, when we are walking with the Lord, He enables us to do more than we thought possible. When we are being led by the Spirit, we can be sure that what is most important will get accomplished. Then we don’t need to feel guilty over unchecked to do items. We should strive to measure our productivity according to the Lord’s priorities, not our own. This is the context that we must operate in daily if we are going to be productive in the Lord’s eyes.

How have you managed to keep your priorities in place?