Living an Intentional Life
I think that everyone wants to believe that they have a purpose for being here on this planet. I know I do.
Living an Intentional Life
How do I do that?
I'll tell you in a minute. First, let's look at how we avoid the traps that keep us from living an intentional life, shall we?
First, I don't know what you might believe about sin. Actually, it's not that foremost right now. What I'd like you to get is that there are probably some things that you do right now in your life that you'd rather not, am I correct?
Do you ever waste time? Sure you do. We all do that in some way or another. The old devil of procrastination keeps us from doing the things that are most important.
"I'll go and talk about my bad grade to my teacher...next week".
"I'll talk to my wife about why I forgot our anniversary...maybe not tonight, but this weekend I'll do it for sure!"
"I'll fix the sink on Saturday, if nothing good comes up."
Have you ever belief like that?
Okay, you've discovered a path to weakness. We'd all like to be more organized. Surely, there is a good way to do anyone than is being done now.
"I could get up earlier so I'm not all the time five minutes late to work."
"I could shave tonight so that I won't have to worry about forgetting tomorrow morning."
" I can get gas on the way home Friday night instead of on the way to church Sunday."
You can fill in your own scenario.
When do you sin the most? When do you find yourself doing that thing you loathe to tell anyone you do? It can be anyone from watching Internet porn, eating a whole container of ice cream in the middle of the night, reading steamy romance novels, cross-dressing, playing lawn darts, or any other shameful thing. It's the thing you hope to keep a underground from everyone who matters to you, and if you're found out your prestige is blown beyond recognition, like a casualty of war.
Maybe you've seen the guy described in the chance sentences of Proverbs 5. He is a young man, maybe in his twenties, and he is wandering the streets at night. It's not totally aimless walking. He does have something in mind. He's walking in the streets of a city, looking for fun with a woman who promises to give that and more to him.
He's looking for a random hookup.
When does your feebleness attack you? When you are feeling lonely? Depressed? Bored? Don't you feel more vulnerable when you're down than you do when you are living for a higher purpose and feel more invincible?
Sure you do.
What is the young man in Proverbs actually looking for?
We all want to feel needed and loved. Maybe our parents didn't do the best job. Or maybe they did. Maybe you had a brother who was more athletic and you saw your dad praising him because he could run with a ball. Maybe he coached his puny league team. You, on the other hand, couldn't half see the ball, much less hit it. Where is your worth?
If you ever felt like that, didn't it hurt? Didn't it make you want to find some other group to fit in with? Maybe you were good at art. Maybe you're smart and make good grades. Is there a group for that? Maybe. If those habitancy love you, you'll be inclined to feel a part of their crowd. You may pick up their beliefs. You'll find yourself adopting their way of life. And you may not even know it.
What the prostitute, the social club, the sports team, and the awards all promise us is relief from our pain. They promise that when you feel a lump in your throat that feels like it's going to explode because you are so unhappy with your sister, all will be good if you'll just turn your back on her and go this way. good still, there is the lie that says, "There are no consequences to consider."
The problem is that this is surely not intentional living. It is having others live your life for you. It is throwing yourself to the mercy of whoever will have mercy. It is following the path of least resistance. And that path all the time leads you to gratify your weaknesses. The more you feed your frailties, the tighter the grip they have on you.
Now, how do you live intentionally?
Get a vision. anyone who did anyone great, anyone who made a critical impact on the world did so because they knew what they wanted and they went for it. They went after things that improved them and the world they influenced. John Adams risked his prestige to derive American Independence. George Washington financed his own army in that war. Thomas Edison tried 10,000 times to manufacture the incandescent light bulb. Moses gave up a position of royalty in Egypt to come to be a shepherd who would lead his habitancy to freedom.
In order to battle your demons, you have to be offensive. When you feel the tug of the ice cream scoop beckoning you at midnight, you have to have an alternative that will good use your time than giving in to the attract of sugar. You have to think this through in advance or you'll be unprepared for the ordeal. In you think in terms of where you see your life in the future, you'll spend your time now differently.
The most foremost battle you will ever fight for your free time is the one you fight with yourself. We all want security. We are creatures of habit. The interrogate before us is this: Do our habits serve us or keep us in prison?
You think about that. I promise I will too.
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