Somewhere on my desk, amidst the “ever shifting piles of paper” (as my wife lovingly refers to it), can invariably be found a “To Do” list. It is usually on a notecard, since I’ve found that long lists on legal pads are simply too overwhelming to be practical. The beauty of these lists is that they both prioritize and motivate. They are steady reminders of what I have personally decided needs to be done and not-so-subtle prods to tackle even the unpleasant items, since that is the only way I can get the satisfaction of crossing it off the list!
A “To Do” list is also a lens into one’s personal value system. Whatever is on that list is something that I’ve chosen worthy of spending time doing out of the precious few hours I’m granted each day and relatively short period I’m here on this earth. Some tasks are simply part of the administrative work that goes along with being a pastor—reviewing committee agendas, returning phone calls, writing newsletter articles like this one. Some are more spontaneous tasks, such as following up when a person ends up in the hospital, a baby is born, or a shut-in member now needs hospice care. Sadly, I’m too often remiss about intentionally including on my list items like taking time for daily prayer or doing some devotional reading while outside, away from my desk.
How we spend our days is how we spend our lives. And what ends up on our “To Do” lists is frequently the way we prioritize how to spend those brief days. Yuval Harari, in his book Sapiens, made this comment:
“One of history’s few iron laws is that luxuries tend to become necessities and to spawn new obligations. Once people get used to a certain luxury, they begin to count on it. Finally they reach a point where they can’t live without it.”
Over time, we have convinced ourselves that devices once considered luxuries—washing machines, dishwashers, computers, cellphones—are absolute necessities. Therefore our lives become shaped around practices that ensure we have the money and living space for these “necessities.” And yet, if those things are on the top of our “Must Have” list, what has been left off by this prioritization? How might we spend our time, and spend our days, if we weren’t so convinced that these particular comforts have to take priority?
The month of October always has a Mission focus to it. We pause to remember how our faith calls us to be people seeking God’s justice in our relationships with one another and this planet. We will consider topics like environmental and economic justice, full inclusion of all sexual identities, and being global citizens. Those are big topics to add to any “To Do” list, but Christianity has never been afraid of big topics. (What could be bigger than “resurrection” or living “on earth as it is in heaven”?) Use this month to re-prioritize and find fresh motivations for following the example of Christ! I plan to add it to my “To Do” list; I know it’s here, somewhere among the shifting piles of paper…
—Randy Bush