Priorities
Earlier this week, my two sons and I watched the opening game of the Eastern Conference Finals of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The seven game series pits the New York Knicks against Indiana Pacers. While I was born and raised in various parts of New York City, I am not a Knicks fan. As I must constantly remind people, I am not really a fan of sports or of athletes. I am a student of strategy and both personal and organizational success. Sports offers a unique lens through which to study both.
However, I would be lying if I denied that I wasn’t a little excited about the Knick’s prospects. All of us root for underdogs. And this was the first time in my lifetime that the Knicks have achieved this level of success. Unfortunately, they lost the first game.
But during the game. I noticed something. I noticed that Spike Lee wasn’t there. Anyone who knows Basketball knows that Spike Lee is one of the biggest, if the not the biggest Knick fan in team history. When Patrick Ewing was drafted by the New York Knicks in 1985, Lee brought season tickets. That means he has been a Knick fan for forty years! Given his loyalty to the Knicks, I knew for sure that Lee would be sitting in his usual courtside seat, engaged in his usual antics: yelling at the referees, twirling a towel around his head, and stylishly adorned in one of his rare throwback Knick Jerseys. But he was no where to be found. I was so surprised, that I announced to no one in particular, “Where is Spike Lee?”
My son Malachi, who is not a student of Basketball but is a student of the arts, immediately chimed in without looking up from his phone, “He’s probably in Cannes.” He was referring to the Cannes Film Festival, which is held annually in Cannes, France. “Why would he be in Cannes,” I asked? Then Malachi said that he assumed that’s where Spike might be because he has a new movie coming out featuring Denzel Washington called “The Highest To The Lowest,” and it is being screened in Cannes.
I have not confirmed if Spike Lee was in Cannes. But if he was, then it would make perfect sense why Spike wasn’t at the Knick game. As important as the Knicks are to him, his films are even more important. Spike Lee is a filmmaker before he is a fan. In fact, it is his success as a filmmaker that makes his commitment as a fan possible. While basketball may be his passion, making films are his priority. And when your priorities are clear, most decisions are easy. Sit courtside and watch my favorite team, or travel to France and watch my work? Easy decision.
Many of us have difficulty making decisions because we have not defined our priorities. Priorities determine who, what and where we spend our time, money, and energy. A wise man once said “If everything is important, then nothing is.” Once priorities are clear, decisions are easy.
Establishing your priorities is not easy. It is possible to have competing and conflicting priorities. And often, we have different priorities in different seasons of our lives. But regardless of what season we may be in, we can never avoid the hard work of deciding who we want to be and what we want to accomplish. John Maxwell has advised that one way to determine your priorities is to ask yourself these three questions:
What tasks am I required to do?
What tasks provide me with the most results?
What tasks provide me with the most return?
Even at age twelve, Jesus knew his priorities. He had traveled to Jerusalem with his parents and their extended family to celebrate the Passover. When the celebration was over and the family returned to Nazareth, young Jesus was nowhere to be found. Alarmed, his parents returned to Jerusalem. According to Luke 2:45-50, this is what hapenned:
So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.”And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”
“Being about his Father’s business.” That was Jesus’s main priority.
What is yours?