Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Fat wheels and a purposeful life…



I saw this tractor and thought “His crops must be ruined!”
He’s killing most everything in the field with those fat tires.
Oh, wait, that tractor has a different purpose…
It’s meant for fun, entertainment, excitement, not for industrial use.
Sometimes we get our purposes mixed up…


Should entertainment be our purpose?
Should work be our purpose?
Should we be focused on fun all the time?
Should we be focused on seriousness all the time?
We all struggle with balance.
We all like to have a balance.
We all realize that our lives are out of balance.
I’m not sure we will ever have a great balance.
Sometimes our family isn’t the top priority, or God is lower than our jobs, or our jobs are a higher focus than our church, or our church ministries take over our relationship with the Lord, or our hobbies cut away from jobs, or…
It goes on. We lose our focus, or our purpose.
I think the issue comes down to our overall purposes in life. 
What are they?
Think of these two:
Please God.
Glorify God.
I have found that if I put these tow purposes in everything that I do, I still have time for family, church, job, hobbies and I have a blast, in life. 
When I help with my youth group, I have a blast, but I’m pleasing and glorifying God in my service.
When I work, at my job, with the right attitude and work ethic, I’m pleasing and glorifying God in my proper work habits.
When I play with my children, I’m pleasing and glorifying God in taking interest in my children.
When I take time to talk to my wife, I’m pleasing and glorifying God by investing in my relationship with my wife.
When I faithfully attend my church, I’m pleasing and glorifying God by obeying His word.
When I work on my hobby, whatever it may be, I’m pleasing and glorifying God by taking time to honor Him with whatever that hobby is. This one seemed harder for me, but if your hobby is golf, then honor the Lord with the foursome you golf with - be a testimony. One of my hobbies is blogging, so I make sure I’m having a positive, Godly impact on others with it. Maybe it’s woodwork, so you honor the Lord with your talent and save money on furniture - stewardship. If it was a tractor pull, I could honor the Lord by being a witness to those that attend or my competitors. 
Don’t make something up, but you can glorify and please God with your hobbies too. Most hobbies are done with others being impacted, if you choose for your hobby to be used that way.

Another post about purposes - Driveway to nowhere...
Lessons Learned: Purposes should drive us, not balance.
Thoughts: What purposes are you focused on today?
#failalot
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5 comments:

  1. It's amazing how simple it can be to serve God and bring Him glory- simply invite Him into our everyday lives and events!

    Like anyone, God likes to be included! I think it makes Him smile. I know I smile when I'm included.

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  2. Great idea. I actually have never considered that God likes to be included.

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  3. It's amazing to me that God loves all of us, not just some parts - hobbies and all ;)

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  4. God doesn't really ask for much - other than glorifying Him...

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  5. I'm reading a great book right now called "Love Does" by Bob Goff. It's a really easy read with some profound lessons. I highly recommend reading it. Short chapters, easy to understand and very applicable to real life.
    It's opening my eyes up to how a relationship with God can be.

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Comments always welcome...