“The busyness of things obscures our concentration…”
– Oswald Chambers (1874 – 1917), Scottish evangelist and teacher, author of all-time best-selling daily devotional, My Utmost for His Highest
Oswald is referring to our concentration on God, yet the business implication here is great for those who prefer to not blur the lines.
A “Top 3” admonishments in the Daily Difference over the past 14 years, is that we ought to be very hesitant to wear our busyness as a badge of honor. We’re all busy. Everyone is, to a certain degree. But our busyness simply can’t become an excuse for not focusing on the important at the expense of the urgent.
If we carry the Faith-based angle forward, Satan’s primary weapon is to get us focused where we’re weak, and our busyness is a key weapon that he’ll deploy. If we stick to the straight-and-narrow, business-only interpretation, one of our greatest weaknesses is things that seem important, but really are only temporarily urgent.
In business, where no one typically loses a limb or has their life in danger, the ability to keep crystal-clear focus on the things that are really important, and to not be distracted by the “emergency of the moment” is what separates the difference-makers from the excuse-makers.
And, since I’ve gone there (and perhaps too often do choose to “blur the lines,” if not obliterate them), a great place to start is to not separate the Faith angle from the business angle. If our first focus in on the Thing that is most important, keeping the other important things in focus becomes much simpler. Not easier, mind you, but simpler.
Make a difference today!
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