Warring Agendas: Distractions or Opportunities?
“The world sets the agenda for the professional man; God sets the agenda of the spiritual man.” – John Piper
One of my goals this year is to be more intentional. This means actively improving my craft and pursuing avenues of publication, but it extends beyond writing. I also want to be intentional with my time, my energy, what I teach my kids and how I interact with others. Basically, I want to think about what I’m doing and why. I want to be focused. The problem is that I’m not sure precisely where that focus should be.
Too often I fall into the easy rut of seeking a lifelong mission, a purpose toward which all my daily dealings point. But isn’t the Christian life more about daily living and less about grandiose plans? If knowing God is the objective of life, then the daily doings are the means by which we achieve that objective. Those daily doings can (and often do) add up to a grandiose plan, but the orchestration of that plan is God’s responsibility, not ours. Our responsibilities lie solely on the small, sometimes mundane, one-day-at-a-time acts of obedience.
When we seek to fulfill the grandiose plan on our own, roles are transposed and all proper focus is lost. When focus is lost, intention mutates. Instead of feeding God’s glory and accepting His sovereign role in the universe, we feed personal pride and an inflated sense of worth. We take matters into our own hands rather than trusting Him fully. When striving to produce my “big picture,” I too often follow the world’s agenda.
As should be expected, the more I seek focus, the more distractions come my way. While I buckle down to work harder, orders stack high for my book purse business, new editing clients come out of the blue, and the school calls to recruit me for yet another committee. Are these distractions or opportunities? Is it God’s divine direction or is it the world trying to keep me from following His agenda?
Here are a few tips toward knowing the difference. If you face similar uncertainties, ask yourself these questions.
Does it glorify God? This is the most important question. If it dishonors Him, if it goes against Scripture, you need to stop immediately and run in the opposite direction. Remember Joseph’s famous flee? Do likewise!
This, however, doesn’t mean that every hobby, every word, every action must blatantly point to God, but rather that whatever you do, you do it with an attitude that honors Him. See 1 Corinthians 10:31.
Does it utilize your gifts? God has given us all talents and gifts, both spiritual and physical. We need to use them! God is passionate and natural, and He made us in His image, also passionate and natural. Is there something you really love to do? Something that comes naturally to you? Chances are your gifts lie somewhere near that.
Does it show love to others? The entire Bible is saturated with the importance of love. We must love God first and love our neighbors second. 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that no matter how great our gifts may be, if we do not possess love, our gifts are useless. Not just useless, but annoying.
Does it pull you away from previous commitments? Remember the guy who started building a tower and then ran out of money? (Luke 14) Everyone laughed at him, called him a fool. You know what else? I bet no one ever hired him to build another tower. God is eternally faithful, dependable. If we aspire to be like Him, we must try our best to reflect those characteristics. If you say you’re going to do something, do it. Do it before moving on to something new.
Your turn: How do you decide if something is an opportunity or a distraction?
