You Have to be OK With Not Doing Everything
The point is to do what’s best next, not everything that’s next.
And the reason for this is the simple fact that there will always be more to do than you possibly can do. It is simply impossible to do everything.
And, if you know what’s best, if you know what’s most important and what really counts, you will be OK with that.
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About Matt Perman
Follower of Christ. Husband of one, father of three. Former director of strategy at Desiring God. This blog exists to help equip Christians in good works, because that's what productivity is really about.
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Timely.
Thanks!
From Pastor Piper:
Constant selective neglect of good things is what my life seems to be.
This is the area of life I feel most challenged in. I wrestle with moments of relinquishing control over things to other people and I’ve noticed that underlying that is a lack of trust. In the moments where I do have trust in God and others, I’m amazed what not doing everything allows me to do best.
That has to be one of the toughest lessons for anyone to grasp. We see an issue and we see multiple facets to that issue and we want to fix the whole thing. My ministry is on Skid Row in Vancouver, and in 2008 we opened a street-level facility to provide showers to people in the area. Shortly after we opened it, I was standing outside, looking at the street scene, with the drug dealing, prostitution, homelessness and other ills, and I said, “Lord, there is so much to do!” And He said, “yes — and your job is to run the showers program. Trust Me to bring in the people to take care of the other jobs”. I believe this is what Jesus means when He talks about “unprofitable servants”. We have to be OK with doing precisely what God calls us to do, and if we try to do more — i.e. be “profitable” — we are, in fact, telling God that He doesn’t know how to assign tasks. If we’re doing what God calls us to do, we have to be prepared to be “OK” with just sitting on the sidelines, waving a banner that says “Go Team Go!”.
Relishing in the best!
Wonderful blog
This is why this is the one blog I’ll permit myself to bookmark/read at my new job. I just sent an email tonight to a coworker crafted as a preemptive pep-talk ahead of what I anticipate are some tough decisions I have to make. I reminded her that our ultimate aim is to make our customers thrilled. This will necessarily make many internal people various types of unhappy. Those who get that we’re all here to serve our customers will be willing to put up with temporary “less than best” or “not enough” or “not fast enough”. Those that don’t….well, that’s a bigger problem.
Great, great, mindset. Exactly right! The purpose of any organization is to serve its customers — which means putting them first. That’s a beautiful thing, utterly biblical, and usually results in far greater results for the organization.
What is your new job?
I’m the global manager for executive briefings and solution centers for Polycom – they make incredible videdoconferencing systems that are being used everywhere from war zones to hospitals. Currently, the program is in tatters, and executive staff….well, let’s say they obviously haven’t read your blog! I’ll be interacting regularly with their entire senior leadership. So, I covet your prayers that I’ll 1. quickly meet other Christians there, particularly ones high up the food chain (so they can be added to my list of people who need to read/spread your book! and 2. that I may make the mystery of Christ clear, as I ought to speak. Had my first opportunity today, only five days in.