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PROGRAM D-8192
What are the ruthless priorities of your life? One author has defined ruthless priorities as “overachieving where it counts.” I like that thought: We should overachieve in some areas, and go extra miles and do more than we have to do, but are we overachieving where it counts?
Setting priorities means that we fully recognize that we can’t do everything and therefore make choices—what will I do and what will I not do? Maybe, like me, you have a “to do” list that you use to make sure you do what you need to do. But perhaps we need a “not to do” list as well, to remind us that we cannot be all things to all people—we are not super-people. God has not called us to burn out, and therefore some things will have to be left undone if we have ruthless priorities.
The dictionary says that ruthless means without pity or compassion; merciless; heartless. We certainly don’t want to be ruthless people, but we need to establish ruthless priorities for our lives. This means that we are merciless about saying no to the truly unimportant things which clamor for our time and attention. We are determined not to be sidetracked by the tyranny of the urgent which keeps us from overachieving where it counts.
Think of it this way: What do you want to be said about you after you’re gone? What do you want to be remembered for? Years ago, I realized that people thought of me as very busy and getting a lot done, and for many years that was my identity. I loved it when people said things like, “I don’t know how you do all you do.” Then God showed me how prideful that was, and I thought, I don’t want my legacy to be that I was a really busy person who got lots done.
I certainly don’t want to be lazy and waste time, but my ruthless priority has changed. I want to be known as a person who does what she does from love—love of God and love for people. Otherwise, as we read in 1 Corinthians 13, all my hard work and accomplishments count for nothing.
So, I repeat the question I asked at the beginning: What are the ruthless priorities of your life?