A Moment in Time —Urgent or Important

I was a senior in high school and wanted to entertain my girlfriend, so I offered to take her to all the rides at the county fair.  With a tank of gas in that clunker Volkswagon and twenty-five dollars in my pocket, I was sure to be the best Friday night date in town.

Through the gate into the fairgrounds we went, past the farm equipment, smelly livestock barns, the hot dog and pop corn stands, and the craft building with jams, pies, and quilts.  We had one thing on our minds: the rides.  The towering Ferris wheel marked our destination. 

Unfortunately, we didn’t make it.  A distraction diverted us.  Just past the gaming area I heard a hawker call my name.  Or so I thought.  I spun around to see who was calling, and a man in a booth summoned me over.

It suffices to say that within ten minutes he had most of my money, and I was still 10 points shy from winning her that stuffed teddy bear.

That’s when I came to my senses.  Sure, I was angry at the hawker, but mostly I was mad with myself.  I’d lost fifteen dollars and several rides for my girlfriend.  But I learned a lesson: Distractions can sidetrack you from your goal.

I’ve always been taught to make the most of an opportunity if you want to become a wise man.  And, now as I am older, and wiser, I can recall some principles which I learned.  You must know your destination—where you are going.  The best way is to discover God’s will and purpose, and you’ll use your time more effectively.  If God wants us helping others in the community, or at the church nursery, or a youth program, we’re only wasting our time traveling to the county fair. 

Bear Bryant was Alabama’s famous football coach, and I remember reading about his days at Kentucky.  His team fumbled the ball in front of the bench, and in the scramble someone had kicked over a box containing eight more footballs.  A free-for-all ensued, with Tennessee recovering five balls and Kentucky four.  The officials gave possession to Tennessee.  The moral of the story is: When the ball comes bouncing your way, grab it!  Seize every opportunity that comes along and make the most of it.

Be careful how you live.  Wiser now, I’m not so distracted by hawkers at the fair.  But urgent needs still try to distract me from my main purpose and vision.  When we manage our time effectively, we will work at not allowing the urgent to keep us from what is most important.

Can you tell the difference between a distraction that could detour you from God’s purpose and an unexpected opportunity that should be seized?  Use your time wisely and don’t abuse it, for there is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven.

On another occasion, I was having a quick lunch on the patio at a fast food joint down the street from the office.  I was surfing the net looking for some research material to use in a piece I was writing and I came across a page that told about Bill Gates (Microsoft Founder) and the wealth he had obtained.  I never have seen so many zeros after a dollar sign in all my life.  Unexpectedly, a homeless man who called himself John, and whom I had sometimes spoken with and once bought some lunch, stopped by and asked for a few dollars.  I starred in amazement at those figures on the screen.  From John’s perspective, I’m sure that my wealth, even in comparison to Bill Gate’s wealth, is astonishing.

Distribution of wealth is not always equal.  Some have much and others have little.  However, “time” my friends is equitable.  Bill Gates, John, you, and I may not be equally wealthy, but we all have the same amount of hours every week.  Yet, all of us must decide how we are going to spend them.  Like the way you spend your money, the way you spend your time should be a reflection of your priorities.  If it isn’t, something is wrong.

Stephen Covey in his book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” pointed out that the “urgent” has a way of overwhelming the “important.”  We get so tied up doing things that we think need to be done immediately that we don’t have time to do the things that we need to and would truly build our faith and hope and better relationships. 

Time is nothing more than a precious gift from God—use it wisely.  It’s inevitable that sometimes during your week that you will waste a part of those 168 hours.  But when you let the “urgent” squeeze out the “important” on a regular basis, you’ve got a problem that needs to be addressed.

May I leave you with a question to ask yourself? 

What would have to change in my life for the important to take precedence over the urgent?