Life Goals
from Rev. Bruce Wood - August 2015
Published
in News First — our monthly church newsletter
What is it
that makes you get out of bed in the morning and gets you going for the day?
Do you have a goal for each day - do you have goals for your life?
I’m sure that most of us have goals. When we are young our goals tend to
be fairly idealistic and even a bit naive - something such as becoming wealthy,
to buy a big house and a nice car, to have a well paid job and climb the
corporate ladder - to be a leader in industry - with a six figure salary, and a
social status to match.
Maybe it is to learn as much as you can so that you become an authority in a
particular field of expertise - or to travel to exotic places and have
exhilarating experiences - or to become a star athlete, or a techno wiz.
As we get older - and hopefully wiser - our goals tend to become more modest -
such as to retire comfortably, or to find opportunities to give something back
to society. Whatever our goals, they will give us a focal point for our
thinking and direct our actions - they will focus our behaviour, and give
meaning to our intentions.
A regular check on your goals is a worthwhile exercise - one that will allow you
to refocus where it is you are headed, and what is needed to get there.
Yet there never seems to be a good time to sit down and think about what you
want to accomplish in life. We have busy lives, and even when we’re not
busy, we often just feel more like ‘crashing’ in front of the TV or the
computer, instead of thinking about the rest of our lives.
If we read the letter Paul wrote to the Philippian church, he talks about having
many dreams and goals for his life - but that he is willing to toss over all
those dreams and goals, to concentrate on only one. He says that whatever
he had in the past as the focus for his life, is now nothing, compared to
knowing the man Jesus Christ.
He says that his original goals are now rubbish compared to knowing this man
Jesus, and it didn't matter how well he did any of them, because doing
“things” is no longer the primary focus of his life. The goal of his
life is now not to gather things, or to be somebody - his life goal is now a
relationship - a relationship with the man Jesus - and that relationship, is now
the most important thing in his life.
Our goals can be about the accumulation of ‘stuff’ - like a big house, and a
nice car, and exotic holidays - but none of that ‘stuff’ will bring
long-term satisfaction, or integrity, or peace, or truth, or love to our lives.
It may give us a feeling of power and control - but that feeling will be
temporary.
However, having goals for our life, means that we also have to live with
questions, and possibilities, and dreams - rather than having the answers, or
having arrived at our destination. Sometimes it’s about asking the
difficult questions of life - and struggling with those questions - and not
necessarily finding the answers - but keeping on going - and where that leads is
for the future to decide.
Maybe your goals could do with some adjustment - and maybe, just maybe - you
might consider positive and affirming relationships as one of our primary life
goals. Relationships are not always easy, and they take some work, but
they also bring integrity, peace, truth, and love, to our living. As I
said to my brother last week, when he was complaining that he was always the
last to know what was happening in the family - relationships are always two
way, and when you start giving, you will also start receiving.
Peace, Rev Bruce Wood