Are You Guilty of Living for a Temporary Purpose?

Christmas is over, and for some individuals, this means dealing with a bit of a let-down. All of the hype and the family times that were so anxiously anticipated and planned for are now just a memory. The meals are over–the hours of preparation, the cookie baking, the wrapping and exchanging of gifts, and the Christmas carols are now behind us for another year. Of course, as Christians, we realize that the gift of God and the true meaning of Christmas can remain with us every day–but that’s not what I’m talking about right now.

Today, I’d like to ask you a heartfelt and direct question. Are you guilty of living for a temporary purpose?

Maybe you’ve never heard of or even considered a “temporary purpose” lifestyle before. If you live this life, you’ll recognize it right away. A few signs of the “temporary purpose” lifestyle include:

• Short term goals that may be materialistic in nature, but offer a point of focus–such as saving for, dreaming about, and selecting a new vehicle or other large purchase.
• Consuming yourself with plans for an upcoming event, such as the birth of a child or a wedding (your own or that of a relative). Spending hours decorating, shopping, reading about and planning for this event.
• Inventing short term goals when there isn’t one that comes around naturally. Those who depend on the distractions caused by the “temporary purpose” lifestyle will actually cause things to happen if there isn’t something in the near future. This could include the decision to buy a new pet or the sudden urge to tradein a vehicle when there really isn’t the need to do so.
• Making the decision to put in a pool or undertake some sort of major household renovation for no apparent reason.

Does anything on this list sound familiar? If so, you may want to take a look at your life purpose to decide whether you are living your life according to God’s real plan for you, or if you are avoiding His plan by making your own short term focal points as a way to fill your schedule and crowd your thoughts.

Ouch. Kind of stings, doesn’t it? Am I actually saying that adding value to your home or upgrading your vehicle is wrong? Am I telling you to ignore the upcoming birth of your new grandchild? No, of course I am not.

What I am saying is that many, many individuals will not allow themselves to hear the voice of God and recognize their true purpose, because they are too busy with their own agenda–and if there isn’t an agenda, they will MAKE ONE! If there isn’t an upcoming holiday, this type of person will decide to plan for a vacation, or reorganize the garage shelving, or repaint the house. Suddenly there are stacks of paint swatches to look through and color combinations to worry about. And what about the drapes? Those will have to be replaced. Are you exhausted yet? This type of person isn’t. The “temporary purpose” individual NEEDS a task to focus on constantly, or they feel useless or even lazy. There was someone in the Bible that had this problem. Her name was Martha.

Let’s take a look…Jesus arrived at the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus around mealtime one day. They were close friends of Jesus. Sometimes our friends recognize things about our personality that we can’t clearly see for ourselves.

Luke 10: 39-42 tells the story this way. “Martha had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Jesus and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore, tell her to help me.’ And Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken from her.”

In a world filled with distractions, this story can help to set your life in order.

Martha was practical and efficient. She got things done. Nothing is wrong with these qualities. In fact, they are to be admired, as long as these qualities don’t interfere with the more important things in life…things of eternal value.

Martha felt she was right. She had no idea that her priorities where out of balance. In fact, she felt so sure that she was right, she asked Jesus to tell her sister to get up and get to work.

Jesus answers remarkably. He always cuts past the outward appearance and gets right to the core of the real problem. Martha used her distractions to “busy herself” instead of listening to the voice and teachings of Jesus. She worked instead of sitting in God’s presence. Sound familiar?

In today’s world, Martha would be the first volunteer to clean the church. Being hospitable she’d organize the bake sale and head-up the food drive. These are all good things, but out of balance. When is Martha taking time to worship?

The Martha’s of this age live the “temporary purpose” lifestyle. Whether it’s cleaning, cleaning, cleaning or planning, or even shopping endlessly for non-essentials…it is a way to rob you of your private time with God.

We all have choices in life. We make small choices every day. Sometimes these decisions seem right at the time, but what are they adding up to? What is the bigger picture? The Bible tells us, “There is a way that seems right unto a man (or to our way of reasoning and thinking) but in the end it leads to death.” Proverbs 14:12

Moses teaches in Deuteronomy 30:19 exactly how important our choices are, “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life.”

According to Jesus, Mary chose wisely. She chose the “good part.” Jesus also tells us in Matthew 6:33 that our highest priority should be to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.”

This world is full of frivolous trappings and empty, momentary pleasures. Are you allowing these trappings to fill your days and crowd out your relationship with God?

It’s the oldest trick of the enemy and it really is an attack on your very life. You just have to recognize it as such so that you can deal with it. God will help you to strike the proper balance of time spent with Him, time spent doing things that have eternal value, and time spent planning for our own short term goals.

But first you are going to have to SLOW DOWN and listen to what He has to say.

Now that the holidays are over and things have quieted down a bit, it just might be time to be still before God and find out what He wants you to focus on next.  Eternity is your choice.