Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing – Acts 6
Have you ever been involved in a big project? I mean a big project! One with large quantities of work, assignments, people, and deadlines involved? If you have been associated with a number of projects like this, I can virtually guarantee you have experienced the “mired-in-the-details-I-have-no-clue-about-what-is-going-on” leader.
This is the type of leader who, when leading a project similar to solving world-hunger, will spend fifteen days determining what type of tablecloth to have at a fund-raising dinner. A leader who, when leading a project to build a new school, will spend seven days figuring out the number of pounds of clay it will take to bake the brick it will take.
Most of the items the project leader focuses on ARE important, it is just not important for them to figure it out!
They have forgotten to keep the main thing the main thing!
I believe all people have found themselves stuck in the details at some point.
Examples include:
- Polishing up the entire house for Thanksgiving dinner, but forgetting to put the turkey in the oven.
- Making sure the children are delivered to and picked up from school on time, but never taking time to see how school is going.
- Obtaining a huge promotion at work, but neglecting the entire family for three years to achieve it.
I see a great example of this in the Bible, Acts 6. The widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food, and the disciples were being asked to attend to the widows. Was it important to feed the widows? Absolutely! However, what was the Main Thing for the disciples? Telling others about Jesus! So, what did the disciples do? They selected seven trustworthy individuals and put them in charge of serving the widows.
The disciples said it so well … “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables.”
Are you keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing? Have you been distracted from the ultimate reason you have been put on this earth. It is time to refocus!
Great reminder, Joe! I know you’re pointing toward a much larger topic but looking at it from the financial standpoint, it’s frustrating to see some of the financial folks so concentrated on saving $1 off laundry detergent or reducing water usage by 10% (saving around $3/month)! They completely miss the bigger picture where so many more gains can be made!
Let’s keep going for the big picture, making the big gains, and the big changes, and not get bogged down in the weeds!