When I think about the relationships I have and the incredible number of people I get the opportunity to impact, there is one simple practice that I have found to be extremely important. This may seem like the most basic thing but the number of people that don’t do this continues to shock me.

Managing your email inbox, voice mail, text messages, Twitter account, Facebook account and whatever else you may have in such a way that you respond to everyone in a timely manner.

One of the best moves I made in my time at Seacoast was learning to manage my inbox. I give the credit for this one to my buddy Ernest Smith. I would just let tons of emails pile up in my inbox and it would be hit or miss as to whether or not I’d respond to someone. He showed me the beauty of a good folder system and for years now it is extremely rare that I miss responding to even one email.

When someone gets in touch with you, you have a golden opportunity to communicate to that person that they matter. I personally think that there is no excuse for not responding to someone. I am not perfect at this but this is something that I hold to be very important. If someone calls me, texts me, emails me or sends a message to me on Facebook, I want them to know that they matter. I want people to know that they can count on me. I want people to know that it doesn’t matter how silly the request is or whatever…if you get in touch with me, I will respond to you in a timely manner.

This is one of the things I value most in my relationship with God. He is always there and he is never too busy for me. Now, I can’t be God to people but I am called to represent him and this is one of the practical ways I can do that. I think that as we learn to simply manage our communication tools efficiently, we can take a massive step towards communicating to the people around us that they matter.

How are you when it comes to managing your emails? Your voice mail? Your text messages? Your Facebook account? Your Twitter account? If you have too many avenues for connection for you to respond quickly, then perhaps you should consider eliminating one of those avenues. Do the people who get in touch with you get the message that they matter or that you’re too busy? What are you going to do to step it up?