Fr. Bob - Not Efficient but Effective
When I was first ordained, I thought it would be a good idea if I took a time management course. Those of you who know me well might say, “Good luck n that.” Yep, I’m the guy who still tries to squeeze ten pounds of work into a five-pound bag and it doesn’t always work.
The one thing I do remember from the course is the distinction between efficiency and effectiveness. Efficiency focuses on what works best in terms of the time saved what’s convenient. Effectiveness focuses on what works best in terms of the people involved.
When it comes to how we live our lives without wanting to we can easily slip into making decisions based on efficiency rather than effectiveness. That’s how we can make what’s most convenient more important than what’s best for the people involved.
I was reminded of this when my niece told me about her friend who discovered she was pregnant sooner than she wanted to be. She and her husband have two wonderful kids. But because her husband’s career wasn’t quite where they wanted it to be they wanted to wait until they were more financially settled before having another child. My niece suggested adaption, but she wasn’t interested. In the end her friend opted to have an abortion as the way to deal with her predicament.
I don’t want to be judgmental. I’m sure this woman is a good wife and mother. But I was taken back by her casual attitude about how she wanted to solve her dilemma. How could she see her pregnancy simply as an inconvenience when a human life is at stake? Yet, when you’re operating out of the efficiency model that’s what you do, you opt for the path of least resistance, the thing that’s most convenient.
Now, while we may be appalled at the woman’s cavalier attitude about human life, we need to remember that in certain situations how we too can be prone to making decisions based on convenience rather than the people involved.
Picutre for a moment. You’re on a freeway and the driver in front of you is going slow as molasses. And you’ve thinking, “I’m going to be late for an important meeting so get the heck out of my way I’m coming through.” In that moment you’re into efficiency mode . Effectiveness thinking takes in to account the people involved. It could be the driver ahead of you is scared to death of driving on a freeway. So, lighten up and give that slow as molasses driver a little slack.
Or an aging parent is demanding a lot of your time. But you’re thinking, “Let someone else in the family not as busy take care of them. I’m up to my neck in work at the office. Pushing people aside because we see them as in the way, if your moral ethic is efficiency that’s what you do.
In Mark 10, the Gospel passage for today the disciples complain to Jesus. “We saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him.” Jesus sets them straight reminding them that if we’re open God’s Spirt can work through everyone.
So, want to be efficient with the use of your time? If it helps take a time management course. But when someone with a need stumbles into your life open your heart and be there for them. It may not be efficient for our schedules but it’s effective for the long haul. Focus on doing the right thing not just the convenient thing and you might be amazed at how the Spirit is at work in situations that you thought were too big for you to handle.
