Focusing On The Important, Not The Urgent

In review of Ephesians 5:16 it says, “Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.”

Bottom Line:

Use every chance to do good, because these are evil times.

What this means to me:

I am to be careful how I live. I should not be foolish, but be like those who are wise, using every chance I have for doing good. I shouldn’t act thoughtlessly, but instead understand what the Lord would want me to do. Unfortunately, there will only be 365 days this year and it’s likely not enough time to do everything. The good news is that God doesn’t expect me to do everything! God has given me just enough time to do everything he wants me to do. This makes it even more important for me to set goals for this year. Goals will help me focus my life, they help me keep my mind on a purpose. Our world / culture pushes us to focus on many unimportant causes.  Unfortunately most of what’s going on won’t matter in a week, and even much less for eternity. It’s extremely important for me to remember the differences between urgent and important. Urgent things are almost never important for the long term and can cause me to miss time with family, friends and God, just to do things that won’t matter for long. Setting goals will help me focus energy on what’s important. The Bible says, “Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.” Ephesians 5:16 (NLT). It’s important for me to set some goals for this coming year so that I that I won’t waste time on things that are urgent rather than the important.