“In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it.” Robert A. Heinlein. My husband, Karl, the reference librarian, brought home this quote from the well-known science fiction writer. In ministry we can find it easy to be very busy without clearly-defined goals. This has always been true, and never more than today with constant electronic trivia available. And it’s easier to answer e-mail than to work on a hard project. E-mail may in fact be in service of our goals, but much of the barrage is not. I’ve been working to get myself off lists that are a distraction and to schedule times to deal with e-mail (with varying degrees of success). I do have a big goal, completing the churches and money book, and I can see in myself the “strange loyalty” to other matters. What about you?
