It is strange how the urgent always feels louder than the important. It rarely arrives with danger. It just shows up with a timestamp, a notification, or a sense of pressure. My wife and I were talking about that recently after she read a small book titled Tyranny of the Urgent by Charles E. Hummel. We were discussing its premise and how relevant it is to leadership, prioritization, and the way we try to manage our days. The more we talked, the more I realized how easily urgency takes over without asking.
I have not read the book yet, but the idea is simple. The urgent is not always harmful. It just demands attention. And without noticing, the important things slowly move to the sidelines.
Jesus described this tension in the home of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38 to 42. Martha was preparing and serving, which mattered. Yet she became so absorbed in activity that she missed the moment to be near Him. Mary chose to sit and listen. When Martha voiced her frustration, Jesus gently responded that Mary had chosen “the good portion,” and then He added, “and it will not be taken from her.”
That final line matters. Jesus was not dismissing service. He was protecting priority. Mary chose what was truly valuable, and He declared that nothing would pull that away from her. It is a reminder that the most important things need guarding.
I see this in so many parts of life.
In leadership, urgency often feels like responsibility. Leaders carry the weight of people, timelines, and expectations. The inbox fills. The meetings stack. The needs multiply. If urgency sets the pace, leaders slip into reaction instead of discernment. But leadership requires space to think, listen, and see clearly. Without that space, direction fades and decisions become rushed.
In work, everything pretends to be a crisis. A shifting deadline. A sudden request. A message marked “ASAP.” Bit by bit, reaction becomes the norm. You stay busy but stop feeling purposeful. The work that shapes growth, vision, or long-term value gets pushed aside.
In life, the pace crowds itself. Calendars fill from edge to edge. Busyness begins to feel like progress, yet you can be active and still not moving anywhere that matters. When you never pause, you stop paying attention to the direction you are heading.
In church, the urgent can even twist what is good. Serving becomes striving. You jump from task to task, but never slow down enough to sit with Jesus. Activity and intimacy are not the same thing. Martha reminds us that feeling needed and being near are two different things.
In marriage, urgency is subtle. It shifts conversations toward logistics. Bills, appointments, and responsibilities start replacing the connection that once held you close. Most marriages do not collapse from one dramatic moment. They drift when meaningful connection is slowly replaced by the next urgent task.
That conversation with my wife helped me see more clearly. The urgent is not the enemy. But it is a poor leader. If you let it set the pace, it will fill every corner of your life with noise. The important things require intention. They need space. They need choosing.
Mary chose the better thing. She chose what mattered, not what pressed the hardest. And Jesus said that choice would not be taken from her. That is His invitation to us as well. Guard what is meaningful. Protect what shapes your heart. Do not let the urgent decide what you treasure.
Maybe today is simply a reminder to slow down. Notice what actually matters. And let the urgent wait its turn.
…just a thought.
