Just after the United States withdrew from the Vietnam War in 1975, the South Vietnamese were frantically trying to get out of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) as Communist forces moved in. Many people were able to escape by helicopters, but this wasn’t an option for Major Bung-Ly and his family.
With no time to spare, Ly was able to desperately squeeze himself, his wife, and their five children into a single-seat Cessna and fly out over the South China Sea in a dense fog. With no radio and very little fuel, Ly saw the USS Midway in the distance. This was the major’s only hope. Ironically, however, the very same helicopters that Ly and his family missed in their first attempt to escape Saigon filled the flight deck.
On three separate attempts, Ly tied notes to objects he found in the cockpit and dropped them from the plane onto the deck to no avail. Thankfully Ly was successful on his fourth try as a Midway crew member spotted a survival pistol with an attached note that read, “Can you move these helicopters to the other side? I can land on your runway. I can fly one hour more, we have enough time to move. Please rescue me, Major Bung-Ly, wife and 5 children.”
When the admiral on board (Rear Admiral Chambers) received the message, he immediately had compassion on the family and was determined to help in any way he could. But the admiral was faced with a huge dilemma. The deck of the aircraft carrier was filled with large, expensive U-H1 Huey helicopters. Yet without any hesitation, Chambers ordered his crew to clear the decks; within minutes, $10 million worth of helicopters were pushed overboard. The decks were cleared, and Ly and his family landed safely.
There is a powerful lesson in this story. The admiral prepared for action by literally “clearing the decks.” He consciously sacrificed something important for something far more important.
Are we willing to continually clear the decks so that we don’t miss out on the far more important opportunities in our lives? Do we miss divine appointments because our schedules are too full?
Only God can give us the wisdom necessary to practice consistently good stewardship, keep our decks cleared, and eliminate unnecessary “opportunity costs.”
. . . let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us . . . (Hebrews 12:1)
Most men have very limited time, energy, and resources. Yet it usually seems easy to add just one more commitment or possession to our lists. We recognize how absurd it is to keep piling on, but without a Christ-centered system of thought to shape our decisions, we gradually drift from simplicity to complexity. The inevitable outcome is overbooked schedules and lots of expensive things to take care of. We’re soon overwhelmed, frustrated, and confused.
Without Jesus at the center, we will become, by default, self-directed and aligned with the surrounding culture. Conversely, when we practice proactive discipleship and learn to walk in the Spirit, warning bells go off as God guards us from self-effort—the primary impetus for sin and struggle and the biggest barrier to spiritual effectiveness.
On our own, it’s difficult to establish clear boundaries and pinpoint when lines are crossed. We desperately need the Holy Spirit to provide continuous guidance to manage life’s many categories.
We must trust God to protect us against overstretched and overextended lives and having our possessions working against us rather than for us. With a 24/7 abiding relationship as our foundation, the Holy Spirit will empower us to achieve balanced lives. Without Him, we are stripped of power and relegated to man’s programs and self-help tools.
Jesus will open our spiritual eyes and help us identify and purge those things that are unnecessary and unimportant. We should also remember that we serve a God of order, not confusion, so when we’re walking in the Spirit, superfluous clutter and wasted time will become obvious.
Essentially, prioritizing our life comes down to prayerfully and methodically removing unnecessary clutter, commitments, and distractions through abiding. As our decks are regularly cleared, we will have more discretionary time. This will enable us to set up practical systems that will help us achieve maximum effectiveness and efficiency in the non-relational aspects of our lives. Relationships are never really intended to be efficient. But as we grow more streamlined and organized in our non-relational pursuits, we will be more available and effective to share the love of Christ with others—especially in our own families and other close relationships.