3 Principles That Will Make Your Life Worthwhile

Last weekend I left Church feeling like a billion lightbulbs were going off in my head and I had so much that I wanted to share. This past weekend, I felt the same way. Here's what I learned ----

"If the foundations be destroyed, what can even the righteous do?"  - Psalm 11:3

3 Principles that will make your life worthwhile: 

+ LEARN

We start out life in automatic mode. We automatically learn how to eat, how to breathe, how to walk, etc. But life becomes much more intentional once we switch to manual mode. When we stop just coasting through, when we begin living with a purpose, when we start intentionally learning. 

I think as we get older, intentional learning becomes something that requires much more effort. Not all of us are enrolled in school anymore. And maybe we are at a point in our career where we get lazy and become comfortable with what we've already learned on the job.

As I mentioned above, I felt like lightbulbs were going off in my head as I left Church. Maybe it's because I was intentionally learning for the first time in a long time. And it made me thirsty for more.

One thing that especially stood out to me in today's message is that learning isn't just about taking things in; it's also about letting things go. That is definitely something that I struggle with. Do I learn from my mistakes? Most definitely. Do I forget about them? No. I practically let them eat me alive. 

I do not have thick skin. When I learn about someone's feelings/actions towards me or when I've made a horrible mistake... I carry it inside me for a long long time. I do not easily forget and I consider that a fault of mine. I was taught today that God forgives and forgets as soon as you say the word (aka ask for forgiveness). Yet some of us (me) still carry it with us. Why? Think about all of the things that you may be holding onto. All of those yucky memories of your past. How can you expect to move forward if you don't let them go?

We must learn, unlearn, and relearn. I definitely need to work on completing the whole cycle.

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+ TRY

There's a story in the Bible (Matthew 25:20) about three different men who were each given a different amount of talents.  Two of the men used the talents that they were given to double the amount of talents that they had. One of the men worked so hard to protect the one talent that he was given, that he didn't try to make it grow. So while the other two men were growing, succeeding, and reaping the benefits of the talents that they were given, the last man, though he still had his one talent, had not grown at all. He was still at square one.

Try to relate that to your life for a second. What are the skills that you bring to the table? Maybe you feel like you don't have any special talents. But you still bring something to the table. Maybe it's that you're great with children or you have an eye for photography. Maybe it's something that you don't see is significant at all. But it is.

If we don't at least try to grow, to be a better person, to reach certain goals, then what's the point? What's the point in life if you aren't at least trying to take another step? Otherwise, your whole life is stagnant. 

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+ CARE

Care a little, see little results. Care deeply, see deep results.

I love the quote pictured below: "The minute you think of giving up, think of the reason why you held on so long." This can easily be applied to a relationship, a career, an education, and many other aspects of life.

When you complain, maybe it's because you don't care enough. When you're ready to walk out on a marriage, maybe you should revaluate why you married to begin with. When you're tired of being at the bottom of the totem pole at work, maybe you should think about your end goal. What is it that you're working towards? What is it that you care about?

Our pastor referenced 2 Kings 5:11-12 which tells the story of a man who asked God to cure him of leprosy. God granted his wish and told him that he would be cured if he simply washed himself in the Jordan River (which apparently was a pretty disgusting thing to do). The man was prideful and enraged that God would ask him to do such a disgusting thing. He thought he deserved better. He didn't want to have to do anything beneath him in order to be cured. He cared more about his image than about being cured.

What do you care most about in your life?

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What's the point of life if you aren't learning, trying, and caring?