As I was sitting in church yesterday, I thought about how sometimes my church commitments are not always easy or convenient. Really any commitments or responsibilities I have are not always easy or convenient. But that’s how you know they’re commitments and that they’re important; you make sure to do them even when it’s difficult or you’d rather not.
If I never had a hard time with anything I am obligated or choose to be obligated to do, I don’t think any of these things would really feel important to me. If our responsibilities and commitments weren’t inconvenient sometimes, we’d never see just how important they are to us. If I’m willing to put forth a lot of effort to do something or to be somewhere, that means this thing or this person is important.
Putting forth that effort doesn’t tell just me importance of something in my life, it tells other people, too. It might even cause people to ask questions or learn something. It might inspire someone to do better themselves.
Putting forth effort doesn’t necessarily mean that what I’m committed to is worth the effort. We all place importance on many things by the time we spend on them, sometimes without even realizing it. There are things we purposefully make time for and things we decide to do later or not at all based on our priorities.
How much effort am I willing to put towards something, and why am I willing to do so? What do I purposefully set time aside to do? How many of those things or other things should I be making time to do?
Related:
Setting Priorities
Choosing Your Time
Spending Time, Investing Time
“I Just Don’t Have Time”
Quality Time