Too Busy? Put the Big Rocks in First!

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Too Busy? Put the Big Rocks in First!

I don't know what it is about our culture but most of us are busy all the time. Or at least we FEEL busy and that turns out to be just as tiring! The problem is that we aren’t necessarily accomplishing a lot of the right things. Have you ever struggled to find time to read your bible or pray for your friends salvation? Do you miss a small group meeting or church gathering regularly because of “life”? Then you are in this category of too busy.

A full discussion of this topic would include lots of details like the average American spends 3.5 hours on their smartphone every day. I am sure the 47 minutes per day spent on YouTube aren’t worth mentioning. The fact that the typical American watched 3 hours of TV every day probably doesn’t really relate to our feeling of being to busy does it? One college group I spoke with admitted that most of them watched a movie a day and often more on the weekends. Are you a gamer? That 2-4 hours that most gamers hit per day probably doesn’t matter when it comes to your struggle to find 15 minutes a day to read your bible. . . no way.

Ok, Ok, Maybe I am hitting this a bit hard but listen to this. You have time to do what you really want to do. Period. Ouch.

Let that rattle around in your head a little. I understand there are , rare, exceptions. I am not talking to you if you are working two jobs as a single mom of three energetic boys with no family around to help. Your life is full, I get it. That is not most people. If you are average, and coincidentally most of us are… you have time to use as you see fit almost every day. How do you choose to spend it?

If you are one of those people who would like to grow spiritually, and if you are listening to this show I would assume that you are, it is in those smaller daily choices that the battle for the day is one or lost. Do you check your FaceBook page before or after your devotion time? Do you call that friend you have been meaning to pray for before or after watching that movie? We often have good intentions but slip up in the details. If that is you, keep listening for some advice on how to manage the chaos of life.

I first heard the story around 15 years ago. A college professor was helping his class see the importance of having clear priorities and then following them. He pulled out a glass jar and put several large rocks in it. “Is it full?” he asked. “Yes!” came the enthusiastic answer. This was back when teachers actually taught in class and students wanted to learn. He pulled out a small box filled with pebbles and proceeded to add them in the spaces around the large rocks in the jar.
“Is the jar full” he asked. “Yes.” came the answer again. This time he pulled out a plastic bin with sand in it and poured it over the rocks and pebbles, letting the sand filter through the cracks to the bottom of the jar.
“Is it full now?” he asked. “No!” came the reply, the students finally realizing something was up. The professor smiled and pulled out a jar of water and poured it over the rocks, pebbles and sand until the jar was completely full. “Now the jar is full. So what is the lesson here?” he asked.
“You can always fit in a little more?” came the tentative reply. After a good laugh and acknowledgement that we all try to do just that the professor gave the lesson.
“Put the big rocks in FIRST.”

That my friends is the key to living the life God intended, that is filled with true purpose and deeper meaning. Put the big rocks in first.
What are the big rocks? Your Priorities and main purpose in life. What is really most important to you? Is it really worth the effort it will take? What will it take to reach that purpose? You need to see both your goals in life and the actions steps it will take to get there.

If you are serious about making some life changes get out a pencil and paper, or live in the modern world and take notes on your phone! But Make a note to answer some questions for yourself.

First, list the big categories that you see in your life right now. Here are some examples.
Spiritual Growth, Career, Family, Local Church, Community Activities, Friends, House Upkeep, Garden, Exercise/ Physical Health, Hobbies, etc

Now identify the most important ones. Hopefully you place your personal relationship with God right at the top. But if YOU don’t place it there from your heart you will not sustain the life that will make ti possible. Your heart will ultimately determine you choices and be reflected in your time management.
Make that list of the big categories in your life that you really care about and are “mission critical” so important that you can’t function without them.

For each category, ask yourself what success in that area of life looks like. Then, list the activities that contribute to being successful in that area of life. You are answering the question, What does it take to do well in this part of my life?

Lay that paper aside and take out a calendar. Put in all the immovable objects in your calendar. Work schedule, church schedule, doctor appointments, etc. Now take your list of top three categories of life and put in the most important activity that contributes to success in that area. If you are a parent that is probably in your top three and time with the family is absolutely required to do well as a parent. Where is it in your daily and weekly schedule? If you follow my advice you time alone with God is THE most important part of your week and is the foundation that gives the rest of the week meaning. Put it in your best time. If you are a morning person, do it first every day. If you are a night person, do it at a time that you will be able to be consistent and protect that time. If your lunch break is best, plan ahead and be ready to give some of that time to God every day.

If you intentionally do this, put the big rocks into your day first, you will find that over time, there are very few things that really matter, that you really care about, that don’t get done. My daughter wants to be a songwriter. She needs to write new songs on a regular basis to do that. One song a year does technically make you a songwriter (Hey, I wrote two songs in the past two weeks but I am NOT a songwriter!) but she would not be happy looking back after 30 years and realizing that she had a gift that wasn’t used to it’s potential. What gifts has God given you? What responsibilities has God given you? What relationships has He given you to shepherd? You are a steward of all of life and much to many people’s dismay, you can’t just float through and be successful.

Put the big rocks in first, review your choices regularly and keep pursing a life of righteous and eternal value. The race before you requires patience, so keep running!