What Are You Driven By ~
Everyone is driven by something whether it is a career, the need for success, or guilt from the past. The American Heritage dictionary defines drive as to guide, control, direct, push, propel or to press on forcibly. You might be feeling any one or more of these ways in a specific situation in your life, or quite possibly your entire life is summarized as one of these terms. However you look at it, if we are driven by anything besides our purpose in life, our efforts will feel meaningless, vain and empty.
Rick Warren tells us there are hundreds of circumstances, values and emotions that can drive your life (Warren, 2002). Let's look at five of the most common ones.
We are driven by guilt. We allow the things of our past to control our very futures and therefore never live in the present day. God says in Psalms 32:1, "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven. Whose sin is covered."
We are driven by resentment and anger. Let the past be the past. So often we live each day in the shadow of our past and the hurt and pain that comes with it. In Job 5:2, God tells us that "wrath kills the foolish and envy slays a simple one."
We are driven by fear. Traumatic events, unexpected accidents and blatant stabs in the back cause us to hold out, protect ourselves and imprison us from becoming all God wants us to be. Great opportunities are missed because we allow fear to grip and paralyze our very beings. God reminds us in I John 4:18, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love."
We are driven by materialism. The desire to acquire overwhelms us and we become firm believers that having more will make us happy. What a lie from the enemy! Rick Warren tells us a truth we would all be wise to embrace. He says, "Self-worth is not the same as net-worth. Your value is not determined by your valuables and God says the most valuable things in life are not things (Warren, 2002). Real security can only be found in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I Timothy warns us, "For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through many sorrows."
We are driven by the need for approval of others. Trying to earn the approval of others is like chasing the wind. It is impossible to make everyone happy including our parents, teachers, friends and co-workers. If we follow the crowd, we will surely get lost in it. The Bible says in Luke 16:13, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and man."
Rick Warren's conclusions are so simple yet profound I must quote them here.
He says, "Nothing matters more than knowing God's purposes for your life, and nothing can compensate for not knowing them. The greatest tragedy in life is not death, but life without purpose." I could not say this better myself.
People who don't know their purpose in life seem to always be doing something, often aimlessly hoping they are working towards a greater goal to enrich their future in some way. Often, we lose hope and try to cope without knowing our life's purpose which leads to emptiness, time and time again. God has a plan and a future as stated so perfectly in Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, plans not to harm you, but to give you a future and a hope." If we can live simply doing the will of God, life would be less stressful, tiresome and depleting. Remember, activity is not always productivity (Warren, 2002).
Knowing the purpose for living gives you peace of mind. Isaiah 26:3 tells us God will keep us in perfect peace when our mind is upon Him (His purpose for our lives), and we trust Him (Bible, KJV). Is this not what we desire as human beings? Perfect peace? Focusing on our purpose for living helps us to forget the things behind us - all the pain, sorrow, anguish, shame and guilt can disappear. The Apostle Paul of the Bible encourages us to forget those things behind us and look forward to what lies ahead, focusing all our energies on this one thing (Philippians 3:13). Knowing what God wants for your life is an important issue. Ephesians 5:17 reminds us, "Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is."
Having a clear purpose for our lives motivates and gives passion to everything we do. We were not put here just to leave a legacy, but to prepare for eternity (Warren, 2002). In the end, it will not matter most what others remember about our lives, but what God says about our lives. As we build an eternal legacy, remember each and every one of us will one day stand before God our Maker on judgment day. We will have to give a personal account for the way we did or didn't live our lives (Romans 14:10 KJV). Two questions you might want to seriously consider God asking you on this day are, what did you do with my son, Jesus Christ and what did you do with what God gave you in this life? Did you accept Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross for your sins so you may have eternal life in heaven one day? Did you take your gifts and talents, make the most of every opportunity and use your energy and resources wisely in your all your relationships according to the purpose God gave you for your life?
Knowing where you will spend eternity and what you will do in this time period will be important to know when your life on earth has come to an end. Trust me on this, I have sat next to those drawing their least breath, desperately crying out to know what was their life's purpose and did they fulfill it.
