The Power of Urgency (Daniel Kolenda)

The power of urgency

The Bible is absolutely full of stories of men and women who succeeded when they took critical action and failed when they avoided it.

When David showed up on the battlefield where the Israelites were at a stalemate with the Philistines, he saw Goliath defying the armies of Israel and hurling insults at her God (1 Sam. 17). He knew immediately what action needed to be taken. He could have chosen to start a petition or lead a protest. He could have asked that a formal statement be issued from the government condemning Goliath’s insensitivity toward the Israelites’ religious beliefs. He might have even organised a prayer meeting to ask God to remove Goliath.

But as a shepherd boy David had faced a lion and a bear. He had learned the importance of critical action. He didn’t have time to go home and exercise to build up his muscles in preparation for the great showdown. He didn’t set up a target and start practicing with his slingshot. He simply took immediate, decisive, and critical action. While all the other Israelites stood on the battlefield procrastinating or looking for an easy way out, David had only one mission— to decapitate the giant. He did it, the deadlock was broken, and the battle was won that same day.

Saul, on the other hand, was always looking for a comfortable compromise. God told him to “go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed” (1 Sam. 15:18). Saul almost obeyed. He conquered and destroyed the Amalekite city, but wholesale slaughter of the Amalekites seemed so extreme and so unnecessary. Surely he could achieve the same outcome with less brutality. So Saul decided to spare Agag, the King of the Amalekites, along with many of his people, sheep, and oxen, which Saul kept as spoils of war.Saul didn’t realise that what God had prescribed was not merely a good suggestion; it was the critical action necessary to secure the kingdom. Saul’s unwillingness to do what had to be done was irresponsible and disobedient. God decided to take the kingdom from Saul and give it to another—David.

Remember, we are talking about the bandit of laziness, and rather than defining laziness as doing nothing (because by that definition none of us think we are lazy), I am defining it as evading or compromising critical action (which we are all guilty of). The key then is to take critical action, but it is not always clear in every situation what the critical action is. To sort through the clutter, ask yourself, Is there a more direct and effective way to do this? If the answer is yes, then ask yourself, Why am I choosing to avoid the more effective way? If your honest self-examination reveals that you have simply chosen the path of least resistance, pleasure over pain, or what is most convenient for you personally, you may conclude that you have chosen the comfortable compromise. In other words, you are being lazy!

So how do we identify critical action? Because there are so many diverse situations, let me give a broad principle: direct action is inspired by urgency.Our perception of urgency not only compels us to take action but also prescribes what action is to be taken. For instance, if you saw someone about to fall off the edge of a cliff, you would not sit down to send him an e-mail about his precarious situation. You would immediately shout to him, run to him, reach to him, and so on.

If urgency compels and prescribes direct action, and direct action is the opposite of laziness, then the antidote for laziness is urgency. You need to see the importance of what you are doing. You need to realise there is much at stake. You need to remind yourself that the eyes of God are upon you. You need to stir yourself, shake yourself, and wake up.

Daniel Kolenda