Lately, I have been thinking quite a bit about time; or maybe I should say, the lack of it. It seems that I am busy from early morning to after midnight every day. Right now, it’s 11:10 pm and I am finally sitting down to write this post. The problem – not enough time…. I had every intention of making it an early evening, but I had so much email traffic to work through that I didn’t have time, until now, to sit down and write.
I’ve had to become an expert at time management and that’s not always easy. People push and pull in every direction and there’s only so much of me to go around. Many times I have thought about bringing on other consultants to assist me with my clients, but I know that wouldn’t work – for several reasons. I tend to get very “hands on” in the companies I work with and I have several very large projects right now that I am working on. I just don’t want to turn over those responsibilities to others – furthermore, I don’t think my clients would stand for it either – as I said above, I get pretty involved.
Sometimes I take some heat about my schedule. One of the guys I am working with to run a significantly large company always beats me up about my schedule. Today, I walked in and taped to my computer screen was a picture of 4 clocks, like you see on the wall in the airport, or at the train station, or in some hotels. They show the times in various places around the world – only these four clocks were labelled “Greenwood”, “Carmel”, “Dallas” and “Scott”. Point taken. I tend to march to my own time – but in my defense (can you tell I am a little defensive about this?), I do have a great deal to get done and a limited amount of time to do it all. I have to be efficient…….
Unfortunately, when something has to give, it is usually time with God. And that’s the last place that I should be compromising. Because when I spend time with God, I am a much better person and a far better leader. Rather than push and pull, I lead and motivate. Decisions come a little easier when I wrap them around what I think God would have me do. Yesterday, for example, we actually started a team meeting with prayer – it changed, at least for me, the entire tone of the discussion – and I kept God in the forefront of my mind.
Yesterday, for lunch, I stopped by the seminary and ate with my school buddies. Half a sandwich later, I was spiritually filled as we discussed different biblical principles and how they can impact business decisions. There is nothing like taking the Bible and applying its truths to the everyday problems we face in the corporate world. It works every time. But sometimes, in the hustle and bustle of the moment, I tend to put God in the background, letting Him know that I will get back to Him later. Wrong……. just plain wrong……
Bill Hybels, the Founding Pastor of Willow Creek Church in Barrington, IL, wrote a book a number of years ago about the necessity of prayer. In fact, he named it “Too Busy Not To Pray”, the title I have chosen for tonight’s post. The basic premise is that when your life is spinning a million miles a minute, it pays huge dividends to just stop and spend some time with God. He has an incredible capacity to get that time back to you, and more, when you consult the Father on how you should do things.
No only that, but I find that I am more peaceful after I’ve spent a little time in reflection. Aside from that divine peace, I also feel empowered by God; that I have consulted Him and that my next moves have passed the heavenly litmus test. Don’t get me wrong. I still miss seminary. I miss the theological challenges of discussing things with my former classmates and professors – the challenges of how to take knowledge from the Bible and apply it to the problems we face in our daily lives through our business initiatives.
But I can commit to make time for God and become a better corporate guy at the same time. In fact, I can’t do the latter without doing the former. So, the verse for tonight comes from Eccl. 3:1, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…” It’s pretty straightforward.
My encouragement tonight is that no matter how busy you are, it is necessary to maintain your spiritual health and your connection to God. And my prayer is that you will see the wisdom of making sure that you honor the Father by spending time with Him and becoming energized by the experience. I know that I have to continue to do that – replacing “Scott” time with “God” time. In fact, it’s just past 12:20 am and He’s waiting for me right now. Grace and peace….