Report and Comments on Tyranny of the Urgent

The following is an overview of and some thoughts on a very important little booklet. Slightly larger than 3x5 with 31 pages, you would be hard-pressed to find anything to compare to its punch, its vital information, and more importantly, the tools for us to straighten our mixed up priorities, and to give time and attention to the truly important in our lives. The name of this book is: “THE TYRANNY OF THE URGENT” by Charles E. Hummel. I will make reference to the book as T.U.

Hummel begins by asking “Have you ever wished for a thirty hour day?” He goes on to talk about how our lives are filled with unfinished tasks, forsaken goals, forgotten dreams, and have just settled in to a life that just seemed to happen as we endeavored to just make a life for ourselves and/or our families, do the things that just seem to be the norm, loosing site of any eternal goal that may have been God's plan for us. It's a sobering thought to think that we can live our lives without even, in some cases, knowing what is or was our real purpose, much less fulfilling it. T.U. is a call to everyone who wants to find and do that ultimately important purpose of being here on earth.

Hummel views the life of Jesus Christ as one who focused on the important and not the urgent. He gives many examples of how Jesus didn't let the urgent detour Him from doing the will of His Heavenly Father. As Jesus stated “I always do what pleases him” John 8:28-29 T.U.pp.7 When He was pressed to respond to the urgent, He didn't conform to the the pressure, but waited on the Father's direction. Mary and Martha sent word to Him that Lazarus was sick, he stayed two more days where He was continuing to minister there. Then he went to see Lazarus, who had already died. No one else understood why He didn't come earlier. but then He then spoke one of the most well known verses in the Bible: “ I Am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Me,though he may die, he shall live. He who lives and believes in Me shall never die...” John 11:25-26; T.U. pp. 11 Then He raised Lazarus from the dead, showing He had power over death as the Son of God.

T.U. Speaks about how depending on God will make you free. Just as in Jesus' life, we can learn what is important to God, and be free from the tyranny of the urgent.

On pp.14, Hummel begins to compare spending money to spending time. We can spend both on the impulsive purchases. Then when we need the time for the important, just as it would be with money, it's gone. It's not there, and we cannot get it back.

It can look very bleak. But we cannot view it as all is lost. God doesn't want us to sink into despair as we view the lost time, opportunities, dreams, and goals. He wants us to restart now, begin to reclaim our time. Hummel says on pp.17 to “Decide What Is Important”. You must decide what project or goal is most important, and then make choices that will lead you in the direction of accomplishing that.

In T.,U., Hummel challenges us to “Discover Where Our Time Goes”. We should chart our days, write down where and how we are actually spending our time, and then begin to “Budget the Hours”. pp.19-24

“Follow Through” is part of the planning. When laying out new goals, the method of follow-through must be included in the plans. pp.24-26

“Evaluate” pp.27 means to examine your plan and your success as you go. “Continuing the Effort” by spending time with God. Our greatest desire and hope is to be able to stand before Him and hear Him say , “Well done, good and faithful servant”. Matt. 25:21; T.U. pp.29-30

If we keep in mind the main concepts and how they relate to each other, it will help us to succeed in completing the important.

1. As with any goal or change, we must first recognize the need. We must be able to be honest with ourselves and acknowledge our need. We see that we don't need more time in the day, we need to use correctly the time we have. pp.3-4
2. That leads use to examine our priorities. What have we been putting first?
3. In order to KNOW what our priorities should be, we need instruction. Jesus is our example, He waited for the Father's direction. God will tell us what is to be first. T.U. pp. 9
4. This in turn will lead us to “Dependence on God”. pp.12 Freedom in hearing what is the exact right move that only God can know. (we may make mistakes, but moving forward is the goal)
5. Feeling dependence on God will make us sensitive to how we “Spend Time..” pp.14-17
6. Being time sensitive,we must “Decide What's important”. pp.17-19
7. Discover Where Your time Goes pp.19-22 so you can decide the changes that are needed to:
8. Begin to “Budget The Hours”, pp.22-24 making time for the important first.
9. Budgeting our time also requires a “Follow Through Plan” pp.24-26. We must watch out for the things that would take us off course. Also, we must remember to not be “discouraged over failure”. p.26 You are working a process
10. “Evaluate” pp.27-28 your progress, record what God is teaching you, your future plans. This is part of your follow-up.
11. You must “Continue The Effort” pp. 29-30 in placing the important before the urgent, re-examining your priorities, looking to Jesus' example, watching over your time and keeping track of where it goes, maintaining your follow through plan, and continue to evaluate your progress, what you've learned, and where you are going.

Personal Application key: While looking to select one main key that would most apply to me and my life in TYRANNY OF THE URGENT, I would have to say organizing my priorities. As I work on this principle, (for if I'm honest with myself, I mostly know what should be priority) then a lot of non-priority things will just fall away. I will wind up not having time for the impulsive, the “urgent” that is not truly something that “I must do now”! This of course does not deny the fact that things come up that MUST have our attention. But if I live by the principle of focusing and planning according to what is important in my life, as viewed and revealed by Jesus' Word and life, then the urgent will not dominate my time, but will be evaluated correctly as to the truth of it's urgency.

In this organizing my priorities, I have to admit that the need to first organize my prayer life is at the top of the list. So, here I am, wanting to organize priorities, but I need something more than just my own abilities and intellect. I need to know the will of the One who can see it all, and can reveal to me what the true number 1,2,3, etc important things are. That calls for prayer, getting closer to God, learning to better hear His voice as He speaks to my heart by His Word. So PRAYER needs to be at the top of the list for me in organizing my priorities.

Keeping in mind the subject that Hummel is presenting in Tyranny of the Urgent, the process he lays out takes me to the goal of accomplishing that which is important in my life.

Sometimes we can be caught up in working through a process that we forget what the goal originally was! The goal is “Doing That Which is Important”. That's what Jesus said. I need to remember that His priority was doing the will of the Father. The process of preparing myself, of gaining understanding, praying for direction, not being dominated by the urgent, etc, is all to be able to accomplish that which is important.