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- David Platt, Radical (183)
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Another thing I want to work on this week is our grocery budget. Early in the year I decided to give away whatever was leftover in each week’s budget. I did very well for a few months keeping track, but eventually starting rolling over what was left to the next week’s budget. Later I switched from my regular grocery store to Aldi and cut a 1/4 of my cost, but instead of saving that and keeping up the frugality I just bought more which eventually lead to more and more relaxed spending (ie, going over budget).
Now there’s nothing wrong with buying food (obviously) or increasing your budget when you need to or spurlging here and there. The problem for me was that my original intention was to give what was left over to those in need and instead I hoarded it and bought more than we needed or things we were fine without. I was intending to give, but instead was selfish…for me, that shows a heart problem.
If I want to live intentionally and be like Jesus, then I just need to…you know, be like Jesus (sometimes I think we make this more complicated than it really is). He definitely seemed more action. Purposeful action dependent on the Father, but definitely active.
I don’t think Jesus stood around saying, “Father now do you really want me to go talk to that person? Really…um, sure. Just let me finish this first. I don’t know. Maybe I should think about it a little more. I’ll just do it tomorrow.”
If Jesus had an “I’ll just do it tomorrow” mentality, how different would his ministry have been?
So that’s my goal. To be intentional, not put things off for tomorrow that can be done today, to listen to the Father, and respond in obedience.
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This morning I shared how I didn’t attempt the intentionality that I aimed for when I wrote When Guilt is a Good Thing. I said I wanted to change. To be a woman who radically lives the faith she believes. To change the world. To know Christ.
And then…I failed. High aspirations to a few passing thoughts.
My husband left a comment, or rather just a link, to this morning’s post.
W. Clement Stone, who built an insurance empire worth hundreds of millions dollars, would make all his employees recite the phrase, “Do it now!” again and again at the start of each workday. Whenever you feel the tendency towards laziness taking over and you remember something you should be doing, stop and say out loud, “Do it now! Do it now! Do it now!”
I often set this text as my screen saver. There is a tremendous cost in putting things off because you will mentally revisit them again and again, which can add up to an enormous amount of wasted time. Thinking and planning are important, but action is far more important. You don’t get paid for your thoughts and plans — you only get paid for your results.
When in doubt, act boldly, as if it were impossible to fail.
In essence, it is.
- Steve Pavlina
It’s true. I’m wasting more time thinking and reminding myself to think than acting. It’s not like these are hard, life-altering tasks. Most of them are quite small and would really take little effort. So why not?
Why not spare a few minutes of my life to impact someone else’s? To take the first step to change the world—to affect the life of another for good. To live with God in the forefront rather than on the shelf. Really…what is there to lose?
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