Ephesians 5:15-16
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
We have learned that kairos refers to situations and moments/seasons of time that have significance. Today let’s look at kairos through a different lens: the cumulative impact of action over time.
God has created a world where the most important things in life take time. Relationships are built over time. We become physically fit through consistent exercise over time. Crops are grown and harvested through the methodical process of farming over time. Skill is built through disciplined reps over time.
In other words, God has created a world that functions according to process, and most importantly, the disciplined actions in the process. Every step and action in a process is a kairos moment. Over time, for good or for ill, your actions have a cumulative impact.
It’s quite straightforward: Want results in any area of your life? Do the work and invest the time.
Here are some important insights about the cumulative impact of daily action:
- For every goal that you have in your life, a process is involved. Goal clarity is important, but process clarity is even more important. Commitment to the goal provides motivation. Commitment to the process produces results.
- Success and failure are rarely a single event. Both are a process. Both have the same origin: the cumulative impact of daily action over time. Here’s another way to say it: No single action in the process creates success (or failure). It is the cumulative impact of daily action over time that produces success (or failure).
- Every action has a consequence. You may not see it, but every decision you make and every action you take affects the process. Do not equate the delay of consequences with the absence of them.
- If you want to maximize the process, you must maximize the moments in the process.
- At some point in the process, it gets tedious. Boring. Difficult. It becomes a grind. Embrace the grind. The grind is the gateway to greatness.
Again, the most important things in life take time. A process is involved, and most importantly, the disciplined actions within the process.
“I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down.Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.” (Proverbs 24.30-34)
