Going Goaless in 2018!

Yes, you read that title correctly. Actually, did you know it is Biblical to not establish goals? You didn't? Well, allow me to 'splain it to you.



The verse in question goes as follows:

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." (Matt 6:33-34, KJV)

Ironically, a lot of pastors will most likely be using these verses as their New Year's Eve sermon this coming Sunday. That's because on the surface, it appears to be establishing goals, but underlying it context wise, it is the exact opposite, at least with things that are of this world.

Indeed, it is an indication that as Christians, we are to have only one goal, and one goal only: to seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. Period. Everything else that the world considers valuable goals is trumped by this one goal.

Even St. Paul gets in on the act.

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14, KJV)

That's right, sort of like "get behind me, Satan." Both Jesus and St. Paul appeared to be  one-issue believers. It was all God, and only God. You see, the problem is when we set goals for other things than God, they tend to eventually supplant God. I should know.

Back in Oct of 2005, I wrote my first, full-length novel. I enjoyed it so much that I naturally figured this was a sign from God that I needed to more fully invest in becoming a writer. I knew God had "called" me to be a positive influence in people's lives through writing. So naturally, each year, I established more and more aggressive goals for my writing career.

The result? I'm not going to say it arrived to the point of totally supplanting other important goals, like family and God, but let's just say that I hated any interruptions to my writing time. So much so, that my writing became my world. Everything revolved around it. That lasted for six years when God said, "Enough of that. I didn't call you to write so that your world could revolve around it instead of me," and He sent a couple of big life-events that tossed me off my high horse and onto the ground, much like Jesus did St. Paul. Just not as literally as it happened for him.

Since then, I"ve been picking up the pieces and slowly working my way back to spiritual health.

Even before 2005, I would often ask God, "what do you have for me to do?" I wanted God to tell me what my goals were to be. Yeah, I thought, Matt 6:33 was good as a general rule, but I wanted specifics. I knew I needed to focus on God and my "neighbor" (more on that next time), starting with my wife and family, but I wanted to know what I should do for Him. I wanted a ministry. In one form or fashion, I'd been asking myself this question since Jr. High when I began the process of answering, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

I even read that guys are geared this way. That we find our self-esteem in what we do rather than in who or whose we are. But after God had struggled with me for years, He finally said, "If you want a king for your life, I'll give you one." That happened in Oct. of 2005, when he gave me my writing career.

It had become my king. It has become my overriding goal. Despite my decision to not let it. I treated it as my second job. My family, even God, became second. After all, I was doing it for them. Right? It was my ministry for God. Hopefully, I prayed, it would develop into a retirement income.

Ironically, like Sisko in my novel, Reality's Dawn, I ended up doing it for me, rather than God. When the means to minister becomes more important than developing your relationship with God and others that God has placed in your life, that is a goal that has gone too far.

That's why I'm not making any writing goals this year or hereafter. Not because I don't need to if I wanted to be more productive, but because I know for me, my goals are not His goals, thus saith the Lord.

Am I saying don't make any goals whatsoever? No. There are needed incremental goals to reach your main goal. Rather, I'm talking about the goal that should guide your life, that your other goals should support. The problem with making new years resolutions and goals is that they end up being the goal that guides your life instead of supporting God's goals. I'll make a good bet I'm not the only one whose done that.

So my goal for this coming year? Okay, I'll make one goal. To seek first His kingdom and His righteousness in greater and better ways this year. I'll read his Word (this blog is part of that goal) and I'll seek to pray more as well, both in church and outside of church. After all, I've got to talk with God to develop a relationship with Him, don't I?

As far as writing goals and other goals, I'll trust that those will happen as a result of supporting that main goal. I'll trust that God will make all these other things happen in my life as well.

We'll do that, and see how well this year turns out. I have half a mind to suspect it may be one of my most productive years, ever!

Happy New Year's Day celebration, and may you become spiritually enriched during 2018, no matter what else may happen. Trust that God will add "these things . . . unto you" as well that you may be concerned about.