Charles E. Hummel’s “Tyranny of the Urgent” takes a look at how people manage their time by giving priority to things that are urgent instead of important. It shows the importance of allowing God to be in control of our daily lives. Strengthening our time in prayer will help us not fall victim to the tyranny of the urgent. Relying on God will give us the freedom to focus on what is important. Hummel believes that the problem is not that we do not have enough time, but trouble figuring out what is truly important. God is the solution.
Jesus died knowing He had fulfilled God’s plan by praying for His directions every day of his life. “Jesus’ prayerfully waiting on God’s instructions freed Him from the tyranny of the urgent”(3). Prayer helps us discern the urgent from the important. We must continue to seek and give our plans to God in order to keep our focus on the important which begins with Him. In our daily lives, we overlook important things such as time spent with family, date night, assignments due, and helping our children with their homework.
The urgent may seem to have more importance when it comes to things like answering a phone call or text message, reading emails, taking care of a fussy child, and even social media. Choosing the important over the urgent can be a battle. Priorities become mixed up more often than we would like to believe. In reality, time management is difficult when trying to do it on your own.
Allowing the urgent to be our main focus can become very stressful. Hummel states that he was once told, “Your greatest danger is letting the urgent things crowd out the important”(1). This happens often when the important things can be done over time so the urgent ultimately becomes your first priority. We must not let that happen. This article shows that Jesus died having completed what was truly important based solely on God’s instructions. By doing this, He avoided the urgent to fulfill God’s plan.
Starting your day with prayer helps you grow closer to God and do things in His timing. Hummel makes it clear that following God’s plan will free us from the tyranny of the urgent and its toll on you. Based on Charles E. Hummel’s article, one can truly be free from the tyranny of the urgent by believing in God’s promise. Follow and trust in His timing.
Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit your actions to the Lord and your plans will succeed”. By doing this, you allow God’s strength to help you focus on what is truly important according to Him.
