Friday, October 25, 2013

Project Manage Your Life!

Following from the previous post I last made about Christianity being my hobby... And over the last few months I've been systematically re-evaluating many areas of my life and my family's life to see how we can NOT make being a Christian just a hobby. I came to a daunting realisation... Living for God and not wanting just Christianity as my hobby is going to be tough work! And you know what? It IS going to be tough "as it is written"...

"For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." - Matt 7:14

So why did I title this newest post "Project manage your life" with an exclamation mark? Being a consultant for the last 10 years and having advised and consulted on many projects, its issues and helped many organisations through lots of their budget, time, people problems.. I see how tough it is being a project manager. Oftentimes it is hard because the people you work for wants to give you as little as possible to get the job done. And your resources, mainly people, wants to take the longest time possible to finish the work! Giving "excuses" like, "But, I want to do quality work!". In reality, juggling limited resources to produce a quality outcome is what good project managers do well.

Now, how is that all relevant to this post? First question I asked was: from Matthew 7:14, what is this gate that is narrow? What is the way that is hard? IMHO, figuring this out should then become every true Christian, every non-hobby-playing-Christian's "quality outcome". To reach the end of this Project called LIFE and have your key stakeholder, God, telling you "well done, my good and faithful servant".

It is funny how the most profoundly precious things are the most simple. I looked at 3 areas based on my roles in this life for example...

  • The Christian's Great Commission: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt 28:19-20, ESV); 
  • And also as a husband: "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word," (Eph 5:25,26, ESV); 
  • Finally as a father: "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." (Eph 6:4, ESV)


If as a truly born again Christian, you are the project manager of your life and the above 3 examples are to be your goals. Wouldn't you find this really hard to do? Although the statements are fundamentally simple? I certainly did! It takes ENERGY and TIME... essentially precious resources... my selfish little voice inside me said... "you mean I have to spend precious time and energy, the little that I have in my life, to make disciples, sanctify my wife and teach my kids? Everything else is secondary?" 

So, I guess what I'm saying is if I start acting like a project manager and treat my energy and time as precious resources to work towards heaven. The path is NARROW and HARD! I'll always have distractions and useless detours like earning more money, or more coffee hobby time or simply more sleep time (which I enjoy.. a LOT)!

Friends, I am coming to a really confronting realisation that the extra 2 hours I spend playing a computer game is 2 hours lost towards the narrow gate. I am not saying I'm giving up all recreational activities. Just like occasionally having that Durian or KFC is ok, but having that every day? Or every week even, might make me sick or fat or both! I don't know how everyone else does it. I personally struggle with this. There is just so little time and so little precious energy in my weak and small life to even finish what God is asking me to do. How can I afford time to do any other things! Do you know how hard it is to...

  • ..have deep meaningful relationships with people to disciple them? 
  • Or to constantly connect with your wife at the spiritual, emotional and physical level to a depth that would sanctify her? 
  • And lastly, do you know how much energy it takes to teach my kids the right foundational values with love and grace as like the Lord? 

How do you guys do it???

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