I’m weak. There. I’ll admit it. I’m like the apostle Paul. I know what I ought to do, but too often my frail human flesh has alternative ideas (Romans 7:19). If I could just follow through on every noble ambition, healthy choice, and ambitious goal that I have had, my life would be magnificent! But too often I know what would make my life better, but I fail to follow through to make it so. My calendar gets crowded, I catch a cold, I just don’t feel like it. I’ll do it, tomorrow.
Just imagine what your life would be like if you had followed through to completion on every good idea that entered your head. Consider how much better the world would be if you had.
There are two primary reasons why it is crucial for you to relentlessly pursue the healthy initiatives God puts in your heart. First, and foremost, you glorify your Creator when you fulfil your God-given potential. Imagine an elderly widow who purchases a new Ferrari. Suppose she never drives it above 30 miles per hour and that, only when she travels the two miles to her church on Sunday. What a waste! What a deal if you get to buy it used from her one day! But the manufacturer of that car did not design it for Sunday drivers! It has vastly more potential than that.
Likewise, our Creator created us with enormous potential. We literally can affect eternity by how we live. We can create works of beauty. We can lift the spirits of others. We can solve humanity’s problems. We truly can make the world a better place. God made us to be Ferraris!
Life, however, conspires against us to keep us ordinary. Life distracts us, so we lose sight of the goal. We experience failure which diminishes our zeal to strive for more. We have well-meaning friends and family assuring us that we are fine just the way we are. We yield to the temptation to put off until tomorrow what we could have accomplished today.
We fail to glorify our Creator when we become satisfied with less than what He created us for. We reject God’s intent when we shrug our shoulders and mutter, “It’s good enough!” It is a tragic waste to leave things on the table that God intended to be a part of our life story. If God designed you for more, you ought never to rest until you are experiencing it.
Secondly, you rob others when you settle for less than God’s best for your life. If God created you to write an inspiring book or compose beautiful music, then you rob everyone who would have been blessed had you produced them. If you could have been a world-class leader but you never paid the price to become one, then people will suffer the consequences. It costs others when you to stop growing.
So, what’s the answer? There are several, but in this post, I’ll just offer one. Surround yourself with people who take their life and their God-ordained purpose seriously. Proverbs 13:20 states, “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.” You become like who you hang out with!
This is in part the explanation for generational poverty. If your father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were unemployed, you generally have no serious expectation that you will ever be gainfully employed yourself. If all you’ve ever known is failure, you don’t typically aspire to success. If everyone in your extended family eats unhealthily and is obese, odds of you breaking free from that mold are against you.
That is why you need to always be on the lookout for people who are going where God wants you to be. Look for wise people and get as close to them as you can. This can be done through books. That is why I love reading biographies. I read about people whose lives made a positive difference on their world. I read about people who overcame adversity, who stayed the course, who refused to accept failure as their destiny, who would not make excuses for falling short of their dreams. Hanging around people like that has a tendency to rub off.
I have dreams of running a 10K. I am not there yet. My travel schedule and aging body have conspired against me. I have run several 5Ks. But almost never on my own. Whenever I go for a practice run around my neighborhood, I inevitably wimp out. After a mile or so, I start thinking that I need to walk for a bit, to catch my breath. After another half mile, I decide I need to walk up that hill. A quarter mile further, I decide maybe I should just do a hard walk back to my house. When I am alone, I can come up with all manner of creative excuses why I should fall short of my goal, just this one time.
The last time I ran a full 5K, was when I was trotting alongside my very pregnant daughter Carrie. Seeing her overcome her physical discomfort made me ashamed to slow down or walk. If she could do it, surely I could too! And I did. I even came in ahead of her. But the next time I was out jogging on my own, I took a break, or two, along the way. I know I can do it physically, but my mind constantly conspires against me.
That’s why the writer of Proverbs urges us to align ourselves with those who are determined to go to the same places we are headed. Other people inspire and encourage us. For years I met with a group of men on a regular basis to encourage one another to persevere in what God had called us to do.
I also encourage people to do what I call, “Customized Mentoring.” That is, actively be looking for people you can learn from. Don’t expect them to meet with you regularly. Invite people to lunch and pepper them with questions while you take some of their valuable time. Be someone who asks more questions than they make statements. Doggedly search for those you can learn from. Be humble enough to admit you still have much to learn.
I did this when I was a new pastor. I had a friend named Bob who was much more experienced than I was. He had a great Chinese buffet restaurant near his church. We’d go there and I’d find out how to conduct weddings or funerals. I knew some men who had done an outstanding job raising their children. I’d regularly pepper them with questions, so I had new ideas for what to do with my kids. I was never too proud to get a new idea that might make my family better.
If you have become complacent or defeatist about your current condition, find some different people to hang out with! Look for people who are determined to experience God’s best for their life, their work, and their family. Find people for whom excuses don’t cut it. Search for those who will prove to you that perseverance pays off and that you have what it takes.
Life is too precious to waste it travelling at thirty-miles per hour! There are no awards for playing it safe. Find people who are determined to experience the maximum life that God designed for them. Join their number and then do everything you can to keep up to their pace! God made you to be a Ferrari! Step on the pedal and see what it will do!
