Focusing on things that you have no control over is one of the best ways to waste your ministry resources.

Consider the apostle Paul. Nowhere in the New Testament does it say that Paul put his time or energy into getting out of prison.

Paul didn’t have control over that circumstance so he didn’t worry about it. He didn’t waste his limited resources on something he couldn’t control.

Instead, Paul sat in prison expending his financial resources to writing materials so he would be able to give the church guidance through letters.

This was something Paul could control.

In the image above, you will see that there are some things that you have full control over. This primarily includes yourself (your beliefs, thoughts, emotions, actions) and your possessions. Next, there are things and people you can influence. Finally, there are things you have no ability to influence.

Part of following Rule 1 – Don’t waste resources – is to never put resources into things that you can’t control. If you have no ability to impact something (think outer ring of the locus), no amount of resources will make a difference. Therefore, all the resources you use on it will be wasted.

I have a garden in my yard that I have full control over. If there is a problem, I would find a solution so that my garden can produce as much fruit as possible.

However, I would never sit around inspecting my neighbor’s garden because I am unable to control what happens over there. It’s a complete waste of my time to fret over the white flies and leaf miners infesting someone else’s plants.

Not only this but trying to control the uncontrollable will make you extraordinarily anxious.

People who struggle with anxiety tend to have 1 thing in common: they’re constantly thinking about things they cannot control. It’s as if their favorite question is “what if?” “What if I fail?” “What if I’m humiliated?” “What if I feel like I did that one time in second grade?” “What if XYZ happens?” “What if” statements produce anxiety because they focus on an uncontrollable future event.

Never lose resources by spending your time, attention, energy, money, or decisions on things outside your locus of control.

Ministry Example: Occasionally pastors will use their platform to explain some recent event that the church has little or no ability to impact. This is a great example of wasting the ministry’s time, and also the audience’s attention. Current events are important, but if discussing them doesn’t produce fruit, they should be skipped in favor of discussing how to meet the needs of the people in and around your ministry.