Focus!

Have you ever noticed how devoted people are toward getting what they “don’t want”. An excellent example is the individual who fails to be honest with another because “I didn’t want them to think” or “I didn’t want them to feel” when most often the resulting thought or feeling would be valid. “I will act as though I’m listening to you even when I’m not because I don’t want you to think I’m rude.” Now let’s put this in perspective. “I believe I’m being rude but I don’t want you to know and I’m willing to control your mind in order to get what I don’t want.” At some point that individual will likely be called on to remember a conversation they were never a part of and be considered quite rude for obviously having ignored what was so important.

This is one small example of how we guarantee failure in our lives by working for what we don’t want. When we examine our motivation for such behavior we most often find fear our driving force. When fear is used as a foundation for a decision the consequence is almost always a self fulfilling prophecy of doom. Romans 14:23 says in part, “for whatsoever is not of faith is sin”. When we apply this to ourselves we see that a decision based on fear is a sin in our life.

So does fear play a valid role in the life of a believer? I say most certainly. Fear is a warning. It draws your attention to items of great importance but is only useful when applied responsibly. Given the previous example a responsible individual might have chosen to excuse themselves or either determined to be more attentive. The choice then becomes one for success and begs the question “what do you want”? Let us apply love now and consider our choice in light of Matthew 7:12. Our decision is made simple and the consequence pleasantly predictable. Let’s focus on what we want and pay the price to have it by sacrificing what we don’t want.