Faith Tip: When our To-Do List is Too Long

Have you ever experienced one or more of the following?

--your e-mail inbox gets so long that you forget to follow up on the items that have disappeared below the screen until it’s too late?

--the papers on your desk pile up to the point that, once you actually go through them you find the majority of them pertain to events that have already passed?

--you don’t even look at your to-do list anymore because it’s just too depressing? Instead you just react your way through the day with little or no real direction?

--you find yourself passively glued to the internet (or otherwise wasting time) with no real valuable purpose for what you are trying to find/see?

It happens.

Do we really believe God wants us to be saddled with all of this stuff that we never seem to get done?

I’m not saying we’ll never be busy. At times Jesus, we are told, was so swamped with responsibility that he had no leisure time, even to eat.

But that wasn’t the norm. Jesus regularly withdrew for prayer too.

I believe for Jesus this prayer was a two-way street—an opportunity to listen as well as speak.

Why? So that he would not lose sight of his calling.

Calling is something that comes from beyond us, though it relates directly to us.

For people of the Christian faith (or perhaps any faith) it has to do with a voice of sorts that one hears or feels. It inspires us to find joy and fulfillment in using our gifts and our passions for the needs of the world.

Not far away from calling, however, is trust. Trust that other people will be called to the sorts of things that need to be done but are, for whatever reason, not part of our calling.

Put another way, the world may depend on me for some things, but it does not depend on me for everything.

Isn’t the same true for you?

Now let’s take a fresh look at our to-do lists.

There are two kinds of things on our list, make that three, to sort out.

First, there are those things that are part of our calling.

Second, there are those things that are important but, if they are going to get done, will need to be picked up by someone who sees them as part of their calling.

Third, there are those things that do not appear to be part of anyone’s calling but, really, are the kind of waste of time that serves no useful purpose for productivity or the kind of leisure from which we will be grateful in the long run.

Focus on the first list, redirect items from the second list to where others can find them, and drop stuff from the third list like a hot potato.

Face it: We all have limited time. But if we will purge our to-do lists appropriately, surely we will find that God does provide enough time for what really needs to be done.

That’s a gift in itself!