It's okay to say, "Sorry, I'm Busy"

Imagine your meeting with the President and your cell rings. Do you answer?

Depends on who's calling, right? Here's my thought, if the President is making time for you, there's probably no one who has your cell number that should trump that meeting.

Need a more biblical example? In 586 BC, the city of Jerusalem was destroyed- walls broken down, buildings destroyed, and the Jews were exiled. Finally in 444 BC, Nehemiah led a group back to Jerusalem to help those who had already returned to rebuild the city walls and restore the strength, sovereignty, and safety of the people.

While Nehemiah was leading the people to rebuild the walls, they faced constant and strong opposition from opposing nations.

Here's a key moment in Nehemiah's leadership found in Nehemiah 6:2-4:

Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, Nehemiah, let’s meet together in Kephirim on the plain of Ono.” But they were planning to harm me. So I sent messengers to them with this answer: “I am doing a great work, and I can’t come down. I don’t want the work to stop while I leave to meet you.” Sanballat and Geshem sent the same message to me four times, and each time I sent back the same answer. (New Century Version)

What's the point? There are times in life, when what you are doing is more important than what other people think you should be doing or are asking you to do. It's okay to say, "Sorry, I'm busy!"

Nehemiah recognized that he was carrying out a "magnum opus" (Latin for "the great work") and nothing was more important than that- no meeting, accusation, busywork, other project, attitude or frustration- nothing took precedent with the great work he was about.

If you are in a "great work" then be careful not to get sucked into petty arguments, avoid unnecessary clutter in life, cut out superfluous time-wasters, and keep focused!