The Tyranny of the Urgent

A number of years ago, Charles Hummel wrote a little book titled, The Tyranny of the Urgent. In this short but powerful booklet, he reminds us of just how easily we can get distracted from what is truly the important things of life. How so? Hummel points out that all of us every day face what he calls life's urgent demands (things like paying the household bills, raking the leaves, running the kids to soccer practice, buying the groceries or doing the laundry). These things have to be done ... and most of them have to be done RIGHT NOW! But the more important priorities in life (such as time spent with God in prayer and the Word, calling to talk with a distant friend, playing in the back yard with your kids, or talking about your dreams with your spouse) - these things can be left undone. And as the urgent demands continue to scream at us - we can tend to lose sight of the truly important.

I am feeling a bit harried by life's urgent demands. I must admit that I have not spent much time with God the last couple of days. So as soon as I post this - I am going to walk away from the urgent tasks on my desk and go spend time with God. These things will still be here tomorrow. I will tackle the pile then!

Thanks for stopping by ...

pj