I’ve been helping Kevin put together a presentation he has to give this week. I’ve been going through different movie clips and quotes trying to best illustrate the message he’s trying to convey. Yesterday, I ran across something that really resonated with me.
Do you see that?
Focus on the critical few, not the insignificant many.
We’ve become a minutiae society, haven’t we? Instead of the old adage of focusing on the task at hand, or first things first, we’ve moved to finding our worth in how many balls we can keep in the air at the same time. We jam our calendars to the point there is no white space left, because, well, full calendar = full life. Right?
All the while, the insignificant many start to bury the critical few. They capture our attention for no real purpose, so that by the time we reach what’s really important, we have nothing left to give. We become spectacular at achieving excellence at things that don’t matter at all in the grand scheme, and can’t figure out why we never really move forward in life…why there’s trouble at home…why we feel lost and alone.
If the focus is on the few – the VERY CRITICAL few – then, amazingly, balance is restored and a foundation is set to bring some of the extra into focus, when the time is right. We are able to hear for which of the extra we are really equipped, and let the stress of the rest fall away. After all, we were only born with two arms. They weren’t really meant to keep 32 balls in the air at the same time; they were just meant to hug those important to us, hold the Word to our eyes, and reach out to a hurting world.
Today’s a good day to clear the rest away and focus on what’s critical. I promise you’ll feel more at peace than you have in, well, maybe ever.
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14 NIV
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33 ESV
“And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?Is anything worth more than your soul?” Mark 8:36-37 NLT
omygosh … i love this!
Excellent post! I think most everyone has overloaded thenselves until they learned to get their priorities right and set boundaries.
This is something The Lord is teaching me! Focus on the few! And priorities. It’s so easy to let the world dictate those but God’s plan is different! And it is always right and good.