19 October 2008
What are your goals?
10/23/2008 09:44 AM
What are your goals?
Okay, maybe that was an easy question. We've
all spent some time here and there daydreaming about
what we want to be when we grow up or where we want
to be in the next year, or ten. Let me ask you
this. What are you doing today to reach your goals?
Simply charting a course doesn't always bring us to
our desired destination, does it? It will bring
us to a destination, just maybe not your intended
destination. I can fill my gas tank (ouch!), get
in my car, set my GPS to go wherever I want to go,
but unless I start the car, step on the gas, and
actually go according to my planned route, I will
never reach my destination. But is this a foolproof
plan? Have you ever had one of those days where
all your plans went right out the window because
something came up or something distracted you, and
you didn't get anything accomplished that you wanted
to? We can think we know where life will take
us, but we don't know. Jeremiah 29:11 says,
"'for I know the plans I have for you', says the
Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future." God plans
what is best for us, but don't we sometimes get in
the way and divert us in places that don't prosper us
but instead harm us? The best we can do is make
decisions today that we hope will lead us to our
goals tomorrow. Either way, we need to do our
part because that is all we can do if we want to be
responsible, or so we're told. Actually, I
think a better word is "diligent". According to
the Merriam-Webster definition, responsible means to
be "liable to be called on to answer", or "being the
cause or explanation", or being "able to answer for
one's conduct and obligations" and being "able to
choose for oneself between right and wrong."
The dictionary definition for responsible
implies that we are in a position of deserved
authority, or able to perform our appointed task
effectively. The problem with
"responsible" meaning to be "able to choose for
oneself between right and wrong", so often, we choose
what is wrong. The criminal is "responsible"
for his actions. The child was "responsible"
for the mess. And sometimes, we are
"responsible" for our lack of diligence. The
ability to know right from wrong does not mean we
always choose between right and wrong. Also
according to Merriam-Webster, "diligent" is derived
from the Latin diligens, meaning to esteem or to love
and is "characterized by steady, earnest, and
energetic effort." This is what I'm talking
about. If we put forth a "steady, earnest, and
energetic effort," it is nearly impossible to get
sidetracked or to come off-course. If our goals
are set, and we continue to steadily, earnestly and
energetically reach those goals, nothing and nobody
will stop us. If you've got too much
"responsibility" in your life, a
little
diligence goes a long way. Until next time.
Grace and Glory,
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Grace and Glory,
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