So, here we are... after two blog posts and several weeks later, we find ourselves saying, "Now I know what meaningful means and I know what expedient means, how do I do things so that actually have meaning and not do them half way or just blatantly wrong?"
Though I will never fully have the answers to that, and trust me when I say that I am not the end all be all when it comes to leading you to wisdom in all things, my goal in this post is to simply explain different scenarios where you would be faced with a choice to do things in a way that would be beneficial to not just you, but those in your sphere of influence OR doing things simply to check a box and call it good.
Forks Are Everywhere
Every day whether we are aware of it or not, we make a TON of decisions. The reason we aren't fully aware of how many decisions we make is because most of them are automated into habits or patterns of life that we have developed over time. Every time you wake up, there's a fork in the road that says "go this way to get outta bed or that way to snooze." Every time you walk into the kitchen, there's a fork (not the literal fork, but I'm sure you have some of those in there too) where you choose to eat or not to eat. Do you eat a healthy breakfast or do you smash a whole box of Honey Combs in one sitting? When you simply look around you, there's a fork that says "I have chores to do. I can either do them now or wait until later." I start night shift tomorrow. Tonight I made a choice to stay up a little later so I can sleep in a little in the morning to prepare for my shift instead of going to bed at 9 (which sounded amazing) and just sleeping until I wake up. Making decisions is one thing we do more than anything besides maybe blinking and breathing, yet we often never reflect on our decisions in order to grow and become a better person.
Examples of Making Conscious Decisions
Let's say you have some laundry to do. EVERYBODY allllllways has laundry to do. Hamper is emptied and by the time you go to bed, it's all back again. Let's assume you live in a family of 4 or 5 people. You don't typically do laundry, but after reading the preceding posts about what is meaningful and what is expedient you find yourself asking, "Should I do the laundry?" How you respond really falls into three categories: 1) You completely neglect it and go do what you wanna do. 2) You might put it in the washer.. maybe the dryer.. then you might let it sit in the dryer or even pull it out of the dryer and let it sit in a basket and never put it away. 3) You complete the laundry from taking it from the hamper to the washer all the way to its final resting place: The closet or drawer. The first two options are likely to be considered expedient because you either did it wrong or you had no intentions on completing it. If you're attitude the whole time was one looking to get brownie points or to get a pat on the back, then you have left true purpose at the door for a far more frail reward. When you view things like laundry as a service to those whom you did laundry for, and you reflect on how nice it feels to have not only taken a chore so despised from someone, but you have also returned people's favorite clothes to them freshly washed and ready to be worn, you have received the blessing of doing something meaningful.
It's easy to read our Bibles as Christians and just check it off the list. It's easy to read it and never think a second thought about what we read. But is there meaning in a reading plan if it does nothing for your soul?
We can say a quick prayer and toss up some supplications and hope that God is exclusively worried about the things I need to have the perfect day, but is there meaning in calling upon The Lord to do your every wish if it doesn't cause you to grow in your faith?
We can set the rules before our children and expect them to obey them every single time and get upset with them every time they fail, but is there meaning behind what you are doing besides having obedient children if they are only doing it to stay out of trouble and not because they love you?
We can get on a diet and sacrifice some of our favorite foods in order to lose weight and feel better, but is there any meaning behind the sacrifice if its all to look better for summer and not to have our lifestyle and future changed?
We can have all of these nice things and buy the nice cars and get the dream house we've always wanted, but is there any meaning behind it if you're swimming in debt and if half the income in your family is lost and you have no way to afford all of your stuff?
We can go through life doing whatever we want to do because we have all the time in the world to get it together and grow up, but is there any meaning to any of it if all we are doing is squandering our time on things that will never truly satisfy us and leave us craving something more?
When The Clock Stops
Think about the years you have been alive. Think about the many opportunities you have had. Think about all the money you have wasted. Think of all the times you could take back. Think of all the times you would have done things slightly different, but you didn't. You made a decision and you made it for yourself and it brought you nothing in return but a few moments of satisfaction. Those moments were expedient moments. Those moments were filled with times when you did something improper or immoral. Those moments are the ones that haunt you. The moments you think about randomly in your car or while you lay your head down at night. Those are the moments that stand out above some of the funnest moments of your life. Are you willing to live your life reliving those same mistakes? I know you are likely not going to make the EXACT mistake again, but the mistakes are all generalized in doing something without thinking with the future in mind.
Every time you yell at your kids...
Every time you make fun of a co-worker...
Every time you gossip about someone you know...
Every time you tell a white lie to a loved one...
Every time you roll your eyes at work that needs to be done...
Those moments add up and the weight gets heavy. But the meaningful moments... those are the moments that we can float in.
Every time you celebrate your kids and they give you a hug...
Every time you acknowledge the good work a co-worker has done and they trust you a little more...
Every time you encourage someone you know and their attitude on life shifts...
Every time you are honest with a loved one and they know you love them...
Every time you zealously take care of the things that need to be taken care of and someone give you their gratitude...
Those are the moments that add up and make us feel weightless and on top of the world. The Lord did not create us to take short cuts and to do things half way that had some high value at the end. If He has entrusted us to do something, then we should do it with the souls and hearts and minds of others at the forefront of our decisions. Will we fail at this? Absolutely. This is not about the times we fail as much as it is about the times ahead of us where we know a decision is coming and that we can prepare our hearts to self-trigger a thought that rushes to our attention that says "Will I do this with meaning or will I do this improperly or immorally?"
When we learn to default to the things that have meaning, The One who has given us meaning will always get the glory. When we do all things as if they are done for Him, then you can guarantee that it will have meaning and a time will come where you say "Lord, you deserve nothing less than my best, and I am glad to strive for that."
Think about the eternal purpose and meaning of everything, or you will resort to the temporary fix and gratification that will leave you empty in the end. Prayer is our greatest weapon against self-centered service and it is our best offensive plan to have God move our hearts towards the things which have purpose and meaning. May we utilize prayer before we ever have to make decisions that require us to ask if it’s meaningful or expedient.
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