Times past, I don’t know that I gave much thought to the things I wanted to accomplish before my end of days.  Sometimes, I think it was lazy on my part, but maybe it’s just the more common approach to living. At any rate, I have been intrigued by those who have attempted to accomplish a roster of things.  Of course, we know, opportunity and access play great parts in the ability to complete a “bucket list.”

See, my list (if one exists) is comprised of simple things.  I always wanted to have a car with alloy wheels- not just hubcaps.  Got it. But only recently. I have always wanted to walk into a restaurant and say, “I’ll have the club soda.”  I think I can pull that one off. These are little things, but they are things I like. I enjoy a good joke, a clear morning and Andy Griffith.  Goals don’t have to be large to be valid. 

It’s not that I haven’t had goals.  It’s that goals in the type of work I do are, well, different.  There is a school of thought in the ministry that pictures goal-setting as a form of carnality.  Biblically, boasting is disallowed, so the emphasis is placed on effort. On the other hand, not much is accomplished without a standard of measurement.  I have found goals useful, but I have also found goals deflating.

Somewhere, there is a balance between effort and excellence, striving and satisfaction.  Perhaps, the key is that we place goals in the proper places and with proper perspective.  It is possible to succeed in some arenas and fail in more important ones. Also, some will never experience the successes of others because they begin at different points and are unable to access the same type opportunities.

A few pointers might help.  We should be more concerned with our character than our resume.  This is not a thin excuse for those with thin resumes. Good character is a lasting source of pleasure and satisfaction while anyone can be pink-slipped.  Also, work for the Kingdom of God is more important than work for self because of its eternal nature. Many things fade quickly despite heroic efforts.

Sometimes, it’s hard to convey to people that eternity is more important than their living reality.  Everything seems so urgent, and most feel the compulsion to achieve in some measure. I remember a song from my youth:  “Only one life, so soon it will pass; only what’s done for Christ will last. Only one chance to do His will. So, give to Jesus all your days, it’s the only life that pays, when you recall, you have but one life.”      

Sterl