Learning to Say No

I was recently talking with some leaders in our church about time management. If I had my current responsibilities and commitments three or four years ago, there would be no way that I could keep up. My personal discipline and time managements skills were not at the level that they are today. As we discussed these concepts of time management, three key principles developed:

1) God slowly develops our time management skills over time. He never gives us more than we can handle. Yet at the same time, He is continually stretching us to prepare us for the future. I look at other pastors who have many more obligations and responsibilities and I wonder how they do it. The answer is that God has been in the process of preparing them for that moment for a long time.

2) Our effectiveness in life and ministry is found in our ability to focus. Only as we focus on the priorities of life, can we truly be successful. The more scattered my energies and time, the more scattered my results.

3) When we say Yes to something, we are also saying No to something. When I say Yes to attend an event, birthday party, or take on a new responsibility, I am also saying No to some other area of my life. Typically, I have found in my own life, that the things I say No to are usually the more important things. Such as God time, family time, discipleship/leader training.

So keep first things first!