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Evangelism teacher Roger Swanson told the story of a young pastor appointed to a little country church.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Christians: Put First Things First - Exodus 18: 13-23; Matthew 6: 25-33 - January 24, 2010 - Everett 1. Bassett
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Evangelism teacher Roger Swanson told the story of a young pastor appointed to a little country church. On his first Sunday there, he was surprised by a practice he'd never seen before. When he said, "Shall we say the Apostles' Creed together?" the people immediately stood, turned around, and recited the Apostles' Creed facing the back wall. "That's strange," thought the young pastor: "I don't remember hearing about that custom in seminary." But it happened the same way the next Sunday, and every Sunday after. When he got to know a few people, he asked them about it. "I've never been in a church that turned to the back wall to say the Apostles' Creed. What does that signify?" But nobody seemed to know; it was just the way it was done. He consulted his church history books. He called professors and colleagues. Nobody had ever heard of such a thing.
Finally, one day he was visiting with a woman in her nineties who had grown up in the church, and recently moved back into town. He said to her, "By the way, you were here long ago. I can't find out what's behind this way of saying the creed-facing the back of the church." The woman chuckled and replied, "A long time ago I asked my mother about that, and Mother said this: 'When I was younger a new preacher came to town who insisted that we say the Apostles' Creed every Sunday. In those days, it wasn't in the hymnals, and none of us could get all the way through it, so they painted the words on the back wall so we could remember it. When we got new hymnals, the creed was in there, so they painted over the words; by then saying the creed facing front didn't feel right. '"
Habits can go quite deep, and determine how we act for a long time. Some of them get passed on from one generation to another - and that's all the more reason to make sure we are cultivating great habits. Stephen Covey wrote about seven habits that are central to living as an effective person, and I think they adapt beautifully into seven habits of an effective Christian. Today I'll add the third of these habits, and that is to keep first things first. It's a great habit to talk about early in the new year, because it's about setting priorities, and living by them. And just like last week, I went into Covey's book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People with certain expectations. I expected this chapter about keeping first things first to be about time management, and organization and such things. Those things were in there - but much of the chapter was about knowing who you are - identifying the vision and values at your core, and then using these to build what Covey calls a bigger Yes.
Here's what I think that means. We are surrounded by choices in life - maybe more so today than any other time in history. Some of them are bad choices. They are destructive and/or immoral. They are choices like dishonesty, sexual perversions, criminal acts, abusive behavior, and so on. The best answer to those roads into bad behavior is the one made popular by Nancy Reagan a few decades ago - Just Say No.
But then there is a whole tangled web of other roads - roads that deserve a Yes. They are things like worthy causes, problems to be solved, people needing attention, wholesome activities, key relationships, fun things, spiritual disciplines, learning new things, and so on. All those are Yes things. If we pay attention to them, they can add much to our lives and make a better world. The problem is, there's too many of them. We say Yes to this and Yes to this and Yes to this, and before we know it, we're buried.
Moses had to learn that over 3000 years ago - what a great piece of advice he got from his father-in-law Jethro. Exodus 18 tells how Jethro said to Moses, "What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, while all the people gather around you from morning until evening?" And Moses said, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God. When they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make known to them the statutes and instructions of God." Now here's some words that are not there but could easily be: 'I'm important, and every one of these cases is important. Every one deserves my time. Isn't it good that I am so diligent? Isn't it good that I say Yes to each one of these demands?"
And Jethro replied, "No. What you are doing is not good." And I imagine Moses thinking, What do you mean? I helped a woman having a dispute with her husband. I helped two neighbors fighting over a donkey. I helped two children arguing. Every case deserved my attention. And Jethro, the wise mentor said, "You will surely wear yourself out, both you and these people with you." And that is such a key insight. Because when we bury ourselves in stress by saying Yes to too many things, we not only wear ourselves out, we wear out the people around us. And a life, a relationship, a church, a household, a workplace, a nation - anyplace can become a place of worry and stress when people are unable to cultivate the habit of putting first things first.
The problem is sorting it out. The bad choices we know; just say No. But the good choices - how do you sort through them, and choose the ones that are meant for you, when there are so many possible Yeses? Covey's answer - have a Bigger Yes. In other words, have such a strong sense of what is basic to your life - what is your true purpose, your mission, your calling, your gifts - that this bigger Yes holds forth against the many other Yes-es that come knocking on the door. I am absolutely passionately called to use my building skills on mission trips to Haiti. It would be nice if I could serve on this other committee as well - it deserves a Yes, but I have a bigger Yes in my life right now. That's the kind of sorting you can do if you have prayerfully determined what the main purpose of your life is. I am passionate about helping my child overcome this learning problem.
It would be great if I could go to Haiti, that is surely worthy, but I have a bigger Yes.
And what our faith teaches us is that beneath those choices there is a fundamental Yes that sorts everything else out - and that is the Yes to the God who created you, and a Yes to the Lord who saved you. So Jesus teaches us: seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these other things will fall into place. If that is the fundamental Yes, the basic drive, in your life, then you'll know what to do in each area.
So what does a Yes to God's kingdom look like? Let me just mention three components for all of us. One is what I was just talking about - it's saying Yes to purpose. This is the idea that all of us were put here for a reason - a God-given purpose. It may change over time; it may be a constellation of purposes - but there are certain things you know you're here to do. For example, your constellation might consist of spouse, parent, professional, church member, and Scout leader. Those things define your bigger Yes. You should write 'em down, says Stephen Covey. Something else might come along that is worthwhile, or tempting. It might deserve a Yes. But as you check it against your list you realize that you can't say Yes to the new thing without shortchanging the bigger Yes in your life. That's putting first things first.
A second component of a life that says Yes to God, is saying Yes to people. This is the message Moses had to learn, when he was trying to do all that work by himself. And Jethro said, "Come on, Moses, get down off your pity post." Okay, those are my words. What Jethro actually did was remind Moses that there were good people around him. He didn't have to do it all himself; in fact, he couldn't. Jethro showed him how by delegating and teaching and being part of a team, Moses could accomplish so much more. I wager that most everybody here has had those moments where you've said, "Other people are just going to complicate this. I'm better off just doing it myself." I suppose there may be some instances where that is true. But not many. Ever since God said of Adam, "It is not good for the man to be alone," it has always accomplished so much more to be part of a team. Heaven knows teams take a lot of time and a lot of energy - to get to know each other, to get to trust each other, to learn to work together - but taking time to build relationships, investing in the team, working together - that is the best time we spend, and it is the bigger Yes that makes so many smaller Yeses possible. The Bible calls that the Body of Christ, where all of us are key members of God's team. It's in our church mission statement in the bulletin, and we spend a lot of time here building up God's team, because God has ordained that we are much better together than alone.
And then finally, say Yes to prayer. Prayer is the way we stay in touch with the source and wisdom behind everything we do. It must seem peculiar to God how we can let everything crowd in and squeeze prayer time out of our lives, and then wonder why God seems silent when we a facing a crisis or have a decision to make. The busier we are, the more important making time for prayer is; we can't afford not to.
I read about a small-time robber whose plan was to go into a secluded gas station, hand the cashier a twenty dollar bill for change, then push the cashier out of the way and grab all the cash in the drawer. It went perfectly -: he gave over the twenty, grabbed the cash out of the register and ran, congratulating himself right up to the moment he counted the money in his hand, and found he had $9.34. Doesn't life feel that way sometime? Like running at a deficit? Constantly investing time and energy, but never accomplishing what we thought we would, or seeing results that match what we've invested? Maybe it's time for a whole different approach. Maybe it's time to turn to Someone who offers not just another new program - but a re-birth to a higher level of life - the ultimate Yes.
Seek ye first the kingdom of God - invest in your God-given purpose, in meaningful relationships with people, in prayer - put first things first - and all other things will fall into place. You'll live wealthy in the things that matter - that's what Jesus promises; that's what millions before us have learned. And it's not too late; and it's not something to take home and analyze on a balance sheet. Every moment is the right time to accept the promise of new life in God, the ultimate Yes that puts the rest of life in place - the
life of abounding grace and peace God had in mind for you from the very beginning.
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