Big Rocks First

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his soul? Mark 8:36

We buried my niece this week. She was only 23. She died tragically in a car accident in the early hours of Saturday morning, April 6^th. A young doctor, she had graduated from medical school just 6 months ago. She seemed to have a full life ahead of her.

Times like these tend to make us pause and think about our lives. Times like these bring a sobering perspective.

What is life all about anyway?

The story is told of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish innovator who invented dynamite. When Alfred’s brother Ludvig died in 1888, a newspaper mistakenly published Alfred’s obituary instead, stating, “The merchant of death, Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.”

Nobel was shocked. That was not the way he wanted to be remembered. In 1895 he set aside the bulk of his estate and used his fortune to establish a yearly prize in honour of those who excelled in some area of achievement or service to humanity. History no longer remembers Alfred Nobel as the merchant of death, but as the noble patron of the coveted Nobel Prizes.

Dr John C. Maxwell says, “People will summarize your life in one sentence. Pick it now.”

How do you want to be remembered? What do you want people to say about you when you are gone? What legacy are you leaving behind?

What is really important?

As the saying goes, “No one ever said on his death bed, “I wish I had spent more time at the office.’”

In life there will always be countless priorities clamouring for our attention.

The late Steven Covey used the Big Rocks illustration to demonstrate the need for us to keep First things First in our lives. He tells the story of a professor who was teaching a group of students. You can read it in the excerpt below.

One day a teacher was speaking to a group of students. He pulled out an extremely large jar and set it on a table. Then he produced some large rocks and placed them, one at a time, into the jar.
When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this jar full?” 

Everyone said, “Yes.” 

“Really?” he asked. “Let’s see.” He pulled out some gravel and dumped it in. He shook the jar, causing the pieces to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. He asked the students again, “Is the jar full?” 

His class was catching on quickly. “Probably not,” one of them answered. 

“Very good!” he replied. He then brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. When he was finished he asked again, “Is this jar full?” 

“No!” the class shouted. 

“Excellent!” he replied. Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and poured it into the jar until it was filled to the brim. 

The teacher then looked up at the students and asked, “What is the point of this illustration?” 

One eager beaver raised his hand and said, “The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit some more things into it !”

“No,” the wise teacher replied, “that's not it. The main lesson is this: If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them all in.” 

"If you want to fit the big rocks into your life, you need to make sure to get them in first.  If you don't get the big rocks in first, you might not get them in at all!"  

In the demands of life we often take the important things for granted. We assume that our family and friends will always be there. We take no notice of our health unless something goes wrong. We think there will be time later in life to make things right with God.

Take time today to determine the Big Rocks in your life. 

The Big Rocks represent the important things in life – faith, family, health, using your gifts, developing your potential. The gravel and sand represent the less important things in life that tend to keep us busy and fill up our days– meetings, phone calls, emails, errands.

Decide what is important to you and determine to keep these as priorities in your life. Find some rocks, label them and keep them in a jar on your desk, your bedside table, the top of the fridge or wherever you will see them and be reminded to keep First Things First every day.

Plan your day to day life around the Big Rocks. You can always tell what is really important to you by your date book and your cheque book – how you spend your time and your money.

You only get one chance to live this life – make it count.

And remember, life is completely meaningless unless it is built on the Rock – Jesus Christ.

“That Rock was Christ.” 1 Corinthians 10:4