{"id":254,"date":"2026-08-10T18:30:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T18:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/victorhess.com\/?p=254"},"modified":"2026-08-10T18:30:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T18:30:12","slug":"to-do-or-not-to-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/victorhess.com\/?p=254","title":{"rendered":"To Do or Not To Do??"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Maybe I Need a \u201cDon\u2019t Do\u201d List<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I like To Do lists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is something wonderfully satisfying about writing down a task, getting it done, and then putting a big check mark beside it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pay the electric bill. Check.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Write the next chapter. Check.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mow the grass. Check.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clean the garage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well\u2026maybe we\u2019ll leave that one on the list for another day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To Do lists help us organize our lives. They remind us of appointments, chores, school assignments, projects, and promises we\u2019ve made. And whether you\u2019re thirteen or eighty, there\u2019s a little feeling of accomplishment every time you get to say, \u201cDone!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But recently I started wondering: Should I also have a Don\u2019t Do list?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After all, God gave Moses a pretty famous list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We call it the Ten Commandments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And something interesting happens when you look closely at them. Most of the commandments aren\u2019t things God tells us to do<\/em>. They are things He tells us not to do<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t steal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t lie about someone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t murder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t covet what someone else has.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apparently, knowing what not<\/em> to do is pretty important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That got me thinking about my own lists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suppose I finish everything on my To Do list today. I answer every email. I finish my work. I make the phone calls. I run the errands. I even clean the garage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check. Check. Check. Check. Check.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But along the way, I lose my temper with somebody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I say something unkind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I ignore someone who needs help because I\u2019m too busy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I spend the day thinking mostly about myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did I really have a successful day?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe getting everything checked off my To Do list just isn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps what matters even more is who I am while I\u2019m doing the things on my list.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That brings me back to six thirteen-year-olds who formed a little club in 1958.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Wesley Club needed rules. They found theirs in three simple ideas associated with John Wesley:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do no harm.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do all the good you can.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do all you can to stay close to God.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe those aren\u2019t just good rules for the Wesley Club.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe they belong at the top of my To Do list every morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before \u201cbuy groceries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before \u201cfinish the chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before \u201canswer emails.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before \u201cclean the garage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today: Do no harm.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s my Don\u2019t Do list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today: Do all the good I can.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s my To Do list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today: Stay close to God.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That tells me why the other two matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And perhaps at the end of the day, instead of asking only, \u201cHow much did I get done?\u201d<\/em> I should ask a few different questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did I make someone\u2019s day a little better?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did I avoid making someone\u2019s day worse?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did I notice God somewhere along the way?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those might be the most important things I ever get to check off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the garage?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s always tomorrow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maybe I Need a \u201cDon\u2019t Do\u201d List I like To Do lists. There is something wonderfully satisfying about writing down a task, getting it done, and then putting a big check mark beside it. Pay the electric bill. Check. Write the next chapter. Check. Mow the grass. Check. Clean the garage. Well\u2026maybe we\u2019ll leave that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vicsnotes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=254"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/victorhess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":255,"href":"https:\/\/victorhess.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254\/revisions\/255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhess.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}