RUBBER,
METAL, AND GLASS

Topics: Choices; Direction; Discernment; Family; Guidance; Perspective; Priorities; Relationships; Self-discipline; Spiritual Disciplines; Testing; Time

References: Psalm 90:12; Matthew 6:19–21; 16:26; Luke 16:13; Ephesians 5:15

Tim Sanders, former chief solutions officer at Yahoo! and author of Love Is the Killer App, says the following about establishing priorities:

Take your life and all the things that you think are important, and put them in one of three categories, represented by three items: glass, metal, and rubber.

Things of rubber, when you drop them, will bounce back. No harm is done when these things get dropped. So, for instance, if I miss a Seahawks’ game, my life will bounce along fine. Missing a game or a season of football will not alter my marriage or my spiritual life. I can take ’em or leave ’em.

Things of metal, when dropped, create a lot of noise. But you can recover from the drop. If you miss a meeting at work, you can get the CliffsNotes. If you don’t balance your checkbook and lose track of how much you have in your account, and the bank notifies you of an overdraft—that will create some noise in your life, but you can recover from it.

Things of glass, when dropped, shatter into pieces and will never be the same again. They can be glued back together, but they are altered forever. They may be missing some pieces, and they probably can’t hold water again without leaking. The consequences of this brokenness will forever affect how the glass is used.

You’re the only person who knows what those things are that you can’t afford to drop. More than likely, they have a lot to do with your relationships with spouse, children, family, and friends.

—Tim Sanders, www.sanderssays.typepad.com (August 25, 2006)