After I finally finished reading a book I’d been working on for a few months, I went through the books in my “To Read” pile and chose Doug Fields’ What Matters Most: When NO Is Better Than YES.

I’d heard about this book quite some time ago on the Simply Youth Ministry Podcast and it had been in my “To Purchase” queue for quite awhile. While at a recent youth ministry event I noticed that the book was available and on sale, so I picked it up along with a couple others.

Fields’ book was a quick read (I started it during my lunch hour last Wednesday and finished it later that evening) yet it was chock-full of practical advice. Following are some of the things I took away from the book:

  • Busyness makes us look important but cripples our relationships. Busyness feeds our egos but ultimately starves our souls. Busyness fills our calendars but fractures our families. And busyness props up our images but shrinks our hearts. (21)
  • You need to learn to say no to many good things and wonderful people so you’ll have space to say yes to God, yes to the important people in your life, yes to priorities–yes to what matters most. (21)
  • Some warning signs to watch out for include constant clutter, addiction to speed (a fast-paced lifestyle, not the drug!), multitasking, superficiality, relationship fatigue, apathy and spiritual emptiness. (53-60)

I definitely recommend this book to those involved in ministry so they can learn how to say no before saying yes becomes damaging. This book is equally helpful, though, to those who are already over their heads in the sea of yeses and are looking for a life-saving device.