“Not as Important”

The enemy voice will use whatever means necessary to slow my progress down. Sometimes that even means taking two unrelated things and comparing them. This is a dark tactic, not only because it is an explicit effort to derail the progress of good work, but because it hurts more than one calling at the same time.

The lie is that certain concerns, cares, and convictions are less important than others, rendering the lesser of the two unworthy of attention.

“Your concern is not as important as drilling wells in Africa.”
“Your dream is not as pressing as the affordable housing crisis in urban America.”
“Your hopes are not as altruistic as selling your possessions and serving the poor.”
“Your conviction is not as important as the conflict in X country.”

You get the idea.

The truth is, my concerns and those other critical issues are not mutually exclusive.

Compassion is not a zero sum game.
Justice is not a finite resource.

Calling doesn’t work in the same way as the free-market economy. “Supply and demand” and “competition” are not even in the vocational lexicon.

But the enemy voice doesn't care. It doesn’t hesitate to use national or global crises to try to squash my small, yet meaningful, role.

(Remember: your concerns, cares, and convictions are often the conduit by which you are addressing those other “big” issues. Ignore the enemy voice.)