Urgent or Important?

Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 1 Corinthians 3:13 KJV

We place value in many things such as sports, money, nice homes and cars, and careers. We spend our days trying to make a name for ourselves. We strive to climb the ladder of success, We push our children to be the best in sports or school. We want to live a successful and comfortable life.

But what makes a successful life? Is it money, cars, and houses? Is it climbing the corporate ladder? Is it raising your kids to be the best in everything? The Bible says that our works will be tried by fire in order to determine what sort of work it was. What works withstand fire? What works are deemed important by God?

With our crazy and hectic lives, we tend to focus on the urgent. The urgent things are the ones that press upon us every day and hang over our heads needing to be done. The urgent carries with it deadlines and to do lists, but just because it's urgent is it important? Too many times we sacrifice the important for the urgent. The problem with what is urgent is that it is often unimportant in the scheme of things. How many things do we make time for in our lives that are forgotten or meaningless in two weeks? God isn't as concerned with what we deem urgent. He is more concerned with what is important.

God wants us to care about people. He wants us to be like Jesus and spend our days looking for ways to show His love to others. When we die, things like titles at work, grades and evaluation scores, or how much money or stuff we had won't stand being tried by fire. God isn't interested in how much money you made or how many trophies you won. God is interested in what you did for others, and by default for Him.

My proudest moments as a mom are not of my kids winning awards or winning a tennis match. My proudest moments are watching my son stop to hold the door for an elderly stranger, him stopping to play with a lonely younger child, or him wanting to help someone with something. My proudest moments are watching the smile on the face of my daughter as she rolls the last of the pennies that she's collected for children in Guatemala, or hearing her pray for a friend who is hurting. You see, they might not make the volleyball team or make the highest grades, but they make their Heavenly Father smile for they are learning the things that withstand fire. They are making a difference in the lives of others.

Look at the things you make time for each day. Are you carving out time for them because they are urgent or because they are important? What would happen if you focused less on the day to day and focused more on eternity. You only have one chance to live your life. Make it count.

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