Avoid The Tyranny Of The List!
There is an enemy, so cunning and deceitful, that we must beware of it at all times. We face this adversary daily and it seeks to dominate our every action. It greets us when we wake up and it still fills our minds with worry when we try to sleep. For some, its tyranny is so utterly complete that they would not know what to do without its direction. This diabolical foe is… “The List.”
Usually smaller than a 3 x 5 card these little pieces of paper wield immense power over some. These rectangular sheets, made more evil by their sheer simplicity, bind us to a preordained schedule that we fear to deviate from. These scraps of scribbled lines are like straight jackets for our minds that promise liberty, but perversely, imprison us more surely than any four walls ever could.
We were not born with a list
We are not born with “the list” but somehow, somewhere, we find them or they find us. For some it begins early and is, in fact, inherited from their parents. Others find them when they become overwhelmed in school. Still others are caught by it, held down, and forced to accept it when they first find employment. Lastly, and perhaps most sinister of all, some are given it by… the church.
List keepers say that being organized keeps them organized and on track. Perhaps, but at what cost? Sure you are efficient, but is there ever an end to your organization? Is there ever a time when your “list” is done or does the tally of “things to do” simply grow?
As Christians, we must tame the list and become masters over it. We must subject “The List” and not let it subject us. Be organized if, and only if, your “agenda” is in subjection to YHWH’s agenda.
We do not serve a “list”!
Daily checklists may be useful, however, they must never override our responsibility to be available for God’s service. Allow God to move you and never set your plans in stone. As children of the Most High we live to serve Him and not “The List.”
Our best defense against the tyranny of the list is to simply be willing to say yes to our Father when he asks us to do His will. Our plans are always subservient to His plans and we never have something so important to do that we can’t be available to serve Him. The way that we can slay this mighty paper dragon is through simple obedience to our Father whenever, wherever, and with whomever He desires.
Flexibility is our war cry! Instantaneous and unreserved obedience is our sword! God moves whenever, however, with whomever. Away with the list to the round file if it dare resist His Spirit! Amen and Amen.