Tuesday, December 2, 2008

"Be Inspired , Enjoy Everyday Of Your Life"

EVERYONE'S LIFE IS DRIVEN BY SOMETHING



Drive means to guide, to control, or to direct. Whether you are driving a car, a nail or a golf ball, you are guiding, controlling and directing it at that moment.

Today, you may be driven by a problem, a pressure or a deadline. You may be also driven by a painful memory, a haunting fear or an unconscious belief. There are circumstances, values and emotions that can drive your life. It can be by guilt; by resentment and anger; by fear; by materialism and by the need for approval.

Guilt driven people are manipulated by memories. They allow their past to control their future. They often unconsciously punish themselves by sabotaging their own success. We are products of our past, but we don't have to be prisoners of it. God specializes in giving people a fresh start. The Bible says, "Happy the sinner whose fault is removed, whose sin is forgiven." Psalm 32:1

Most people are driven by resentment and anger. They hold on to hurts and never get over them. Instead of releasing their pain through forgiveness, they rehearse it over and over in their minds. Resentment always hurts you more than it does the person you resent.

While your offender has probably forgotten the offense and gone on with life, you continue to stew in your pain, perpetuating the past. Those who have hurt you in the past cannot continue to hurt you now unless you hold on to the pain through resentment. Past is past and nothing will change it. You are only hurting yourself with your bitterness. For your own sake, learn from it and ten let it go. The Bible says, "Nay, impatience kills the fool and indignation slays the simpleton." Job 5:2

Fears may be a result of a traumatic experience, unrealistic expectations, growing up in a high-control home or even genetic predisposition. Regardless of the cause, fear-driven people often miss great opportunities because they are afraind to venture out. Instead they play it safe, avoiding risks and trying to maintain the status quo. Fear is a self-imposed prison that will keep you from becoming what God intends for you to be. You must move against it with the weapons of faith and love. The Bible says, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love." 1 Job 4:18

There are people are driven by materialism. Their desire to acquire becomes the whole goal of their lives. This drive to always want more is based on the misconceptions that having more will make me more happy, more important and more secure but all three ideas are untrue. Possessions provide temporary happiness. Because things do not change, we eventually become bored with them and then want newer, bigger, and better versions. Ir is also a myth that if I get more, I will be more important. The most common myth about money is that having more will make me more secure. Wealth can be lost instantly throug a variety of uncontrollable factors. Real security can only be found in that which can never be taken from you - your relationship with God.

In most instances, people are driven by the need for approval. They allow the expectations of parents or spouses or children or teachers or friends to control their lives. Many adults are trying to earn the approval of unpleasable parents. Others are driven by peer pressure, always worried by what others might think.

Nothing matters more than knowing God's purposes for your life and nothing can compensate for not knowing them - not success, wealth, fame or pleasure. Without a purpose, life is motion without meaning, activity without direction and events without reason. Without a purpose, life is trivial, petty and pointless.

No comments: