Over the past week, I have enjoyed reading the quotes from various people in regards to the passing on Tuesday of New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. I am always curious to see what people will say about someone after they die.

My dad (like most growing up in the 50s and 60s) was a huge Yankees fan with the likes of Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, Joe Dimaggio, and Yogi Berra. So, while I am not a Yankees fan, I was interested.

There has been a range of statements made about Mr. Steinbrenner, but my favorite quote was
“he had such a sense of urgency about him in all of life.”

Growing up, I often recognized that my dad was a fast walker. One day I asked him why he walks so fast. He told me that at work he is walking and it is important to walk fast in order to be good at what he does. As a young boy, that didn’t mean much to me.

However, last year while working at UPS, my boss asked me to walk out with him one day. It was a 25 minute walk from our office to the parking lot. I said sure and walked with him. I quickly noticed that he was walking a lot faster than I was. I had a hard time keeping up. But in my desire to be like my dad and be manly, I made myself walk fast enough so as to not let him think that he is a faster walker or more manly than I am. During this walk, I was reminded of the UPS management training manual that says that all UPS employees should operate with a “sense of urgency”.
I was then reminded that my dad also walks fast. My dad works with a sense of urgency, and he is effective. My UPS bosses work with a sense of urgency, and they were effective. And they say that George Steinbrenner had a sense of urgency, and he was effective. I want to be effective, and therefore I need a sense of urgency.

Jesus certainly had a sense of urgency. In John 9, he says “night is coming when no man can work”. Which means we need to take care of business now because the time is coming when we will not be able to.

For the sake of the Gospel, I want to live with a sense of urgency. The time is now to give my life for the cause of Christ and His Church.
Thank you Dad, UPS, and even Mr. George Steinbrenner for impressing this upon me.

More so, thank you Jesus for teaching me this and impacting me with this.

Its urgent!