10-18-20 Build it Wisely

Quote: Get into the habit of asking yourself, “Does this support the life I’m trying to build?” – Unknown

Life is a journey and the choices we make everyday determine what kind of journey it is.

If we isolate ourselves, it can become a lonely journey.  If we spend everyday pouring into others and don’t take time to refresh, we will end up being very burned out on our journey.  If we only think of ourselves and take advantage of people, our journey will become a very sad one.  If we keep our feelings bottled up, it can become an angry journey.  If we always want more and are never content with what we have, it will be a restless journey.

But what if we could somehow train ourselves to think 10 steps ahead before we make decisions?

What if before every choice we made – no matter how big or how small – we got in the habit of asking ourselves if the outcome of the decision aligns with the kind of journey we want to live?  I saw this quote earlier this week and tried implementing it for a few days.  It’s so eye opening.  It puts things in perspective.  It makes you realize that even the little decisions you make can impact so much.  If I choose not to go on that walk in the rain, it’s really not that big of a deal.  I’m not going to gain 10 pounds overnight.  But if I don’t go today, will I be more apt to skip tomorrow too?  Will I end up skipping the whole week of walking because it’s not that big of a deal to miss a few days?  We all know what often happens.  A month down the road, I’ve gained 10 pounds and quit my walking routine. If my goal is to build a healthy lifestyle, then I have to put on the raincoat and take the walk.

I urge you to think hard about the journey rather than just thinking of choices as isolated decisions.  Think about what you will and will not stand for.  What are your non-negotiables?  When you are in your 90s sitting in that rocking chair on the porch, are you going to be proud of the journey you led?  What is your driving force?  What are some things that need to start changing for your journey to look the way you always imagined it would be?

I believe this should be the filter we use for every decision we make.

Should I say yes to helping that person even though I’ve got other things I want to do instead?  Well that depends.  What kind of life am I building?  One where serving others is my golden standard… or only serving when it’s convenient or easy?   Should I tell that person how I’m really feeling?  That depends.  What kind of life am I trying to build?  One where I have rich relationships where honesty and healthy boundaries are non-negotiable… or only surface friendships that when conflict arises I take the easy way out and keep quiet?  Should I apologize to that person?  That depends.  What kind of journey do I want to be on?  Is it more important to be right and take that stand… or is it better to try to live at peace with others as much as possible?

It’s your journey.  You get to decide how the journey looks.

For our family ministry, we wanted Zieroff Ministries to have a verse that we filter everything through because we have a strong faith.  This is our non-negotiable.  And it’s how we filter all of our family decisions.  We picked Joshua 24:15 to be our family mantra.  It says, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve – but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”   We feel that the Bible makes it clear we are to serve others.  We are to be the hands and feet of Jesus.  And that means looking at our weekly calendar and saying God, this week is yours.  Please give us opportunities to serve others, especially those that need it most.

That means serving a friend by agreeing to meet for an 8:00am coffee on the weekend.  That means serving families by helping out with carpooling or volunteering to coach.  That means serving those that need encouragement by answering those texts, emails, and messages instead of watching that tv show.  That means serving each other by taking the time to listen to each other talk about the ups and downs of our day.  That means looking at household chores as ways to bless each other because we are so thankful for what we have.

We don’t want to just model serving for our boys – we want to surround them with people that are servers.  We don’t want them to grow up thinking that life is all about doing what makes them happy.  A servant’s heart makes decisions and thinks about how their actions could impact other people.  Being others focused.  That’s our standard.  And that’s the life our family will continue to build.

I pray that we all filter our decisions based on the kind of journey we are trying to build.