Keith Chandler
Journey Christian Church
When I say, “What do you want?” It’s much like the feeling you have at the food court. There’s a lot of different options. Typically after asking what you want, we ask ourselves…what am I in the mood for? It’s not a deep question and you end up with things like, “I want a new house, or a new car.”
What do you want?
Many of us GET what we want and then we realize it wasn’t what we wanted. That’s the worst cycle … I want it, I get it, I regret it.
The BETTER question is, what do I value?
Because we will never discover what we really want until we discover what we really value. What’s the legacy you want to leave?
Here’s a little exercise that can be both clarifying and freeing. It is one of the best ways to help us figure out what it is that we really want. It’s called the Eulogy exercise.
This came out in a book everyone has read by now… Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey.
I want you to think DEEPLY.
This is the big question.
What would you like people to say at your funeral? Covey calls it beginning with the end in mind. If you’re getting ready to go on a vacation, you begin with the end in mind.
You think about “Where are we gonna go? How much am I going to spend? Where are we going to stay? What are we going to do? How are we going to get around?” You plan it out.
No one drives down to TPA, walks up to the counter and says, “You tell me where I should go. What’s good today?” Most of us wander into life asking, “What am I in the mood for?” Most of us don’t take the time to think about the END. We just think about the NOW.
The eulogy exercise helps us think about our destination. Covey says, “When you carefully think about what you want said in that funeral experience…you will find your definition of success.”
In other words, you will begin to figure out what you really value and that’s important to all of us. For those of us who consider ourselves followers of Jesus, we believe there’s another question that needs to be asked. Not just what do I really want, but what does God really want? If everything in my life is on loan from God, then what does God really want out of my life?
WHAT IF God is not asking for something from you? Because the problem most of us have with God (and this may be why you have stayed away from church) is you just assumed God was against anything fun, good, or happy in your life. And you said, “That’s NOT what I want.”
In the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus begins by praying… OUR FATHER. Think about that for a minute. This is so clarifying. Jesus gives us permission to address God as Father. God is a good father. What does a GOOD parent want from their children? … NOTHING.
I don’t wake up and think, “What can I get out of my children today?” Parents don’t want something FROM their kids, they want stuff FOR their children. They want opportunities and a great future for them. Jesus says that’s what our heavenly father wants for us.
What you really want is a lot closer to what God really wants for you then maybe you ever thought. So, here’s what I want you to do. Spend time doing the eulogy exercise.
Ask yourself: what do I want people to say about me? (It probably has very little to do with accomplishments, or how much money you made and what car you drove). But it probably has a lot to do with what you VALUE.
Until next month,
Keith
7708 Van Dyke Rd, Odessa
813-920-0442
Services Sunday at 10:00
www.tampajourney.com