God Doesn’t Care….& Neither Should You

I was sitting in church with my son when he was about 5 years old…the wonderful age when they say what’s on their minds with no holds barred.  I looked over during the sermon and realized he had on one blue sock and one black sock.  I leaned over and whispered, “Jamal, you have on mismatching socks.”  I will never forget what he said. After looking down and thinking for a few seconds, he whispered, “Mom, God doesn’t care.”  While quite amusing (for a 5-year-old) I realized then as I do now some real parenting and leadership truths.

How many times are we focusing on the unimportant?  A few examples:

• Our kids wearing matching shirts and shoes to school or outside to play.

• Our staff will not do things the way we did 20+ years ago but instead have found a way that is faster, evidence-based, and still gets the job done.

• The current staff has found a good work/life blend and take more time off to be with family.  (How dare they when we used to take off a vacation day now and then but did not want to leave our positions for fear the department would be short-staffed?

• We stayed over into the next shift and picked up regular overtime because we are “dedicated to our job and the patients.”  Many staff do not want overtime and would prefer to not even be called on their day off.

• I was encouraged, no…directed to call my parents to talk.  Some of our kids would rather text to stay connected. 

Maybe we as leaders (and parents) should focus more on outcomes and the things God (and our families), friends, and staff REALLY care about.  My last blog talked about “being still.”  As we take the time to “be still” and think about our actions AND their consequences

• Are you as a parent, a spouse, or a friend taking the time to focus on what is important in your personal and professional life? 

• Are you as a leader encouraging your staff to use evidence to make decisions and discouraging “this is how we have always done it?” 

• Are you being thankful for maintaining a connection with your kids even if it is “just a daily text?”

Remember the words of a very wise 5-year-old (who, oh, by the way, is now an amazing and wise 28-year-old young man), “God doesn’t care” so maybe we shouldn’t either. 

What can you do differently this week to focus on what is important instead of what is mundane? I would love to hear your response.