by Amanda B. McKelroy | May 31, 2018
The influences we allow in our lives today shape the person we will be tomorrow. To quote Dr. McKelroy; “You will be what you are becoming.” When was the last time you sat down and thought about who you want to be ten years from today? Where is your life headed? What will you have accomplished for Christ? What kind of person will you have become?
When I was about 14 years old my dad sat me down and handed me a blank piece of yellow legal-pad paper and a pen. He instructed me to draw a line diagonally across the page. On one side I was to write things that I would like to see happen in my life, and on the other side I was to write things that were a must (such as going to college). He had me make markers for different age milestones so I could group what I was writing by what age I thought it should be accomplished. We made a plan for who I wanted to be by the time I was 35, a twenty-year span from that day. Today I am 28 years old, and almost every “must” has either been accomplished or is in the process of being accomplished for my 30-year-old mark. I’ve also been able to accomplish many of the things that I wanted but weren’t a “must” by this age. Most importantly, I am in most areas the person I wanted to become. There is much growing and maturing in my future; I pray that I never stop growing and maturing! The experience of sitting down with my father and making a plan for who I wanted to be and what I thought I’d need to do to become that person was a vital lesson that I implement in life regularly.
Almost every week I meet young people who have little to no direction in life If they have an idea of where they want to be in ten years, they rarely have a plan to get there. Teaching our children how to plan for the future is a dying art. But we must teach them how to choose who they want to be someday and help them start making decisions to get them there.
Reflecting on the goals I made as a teen and the steps I took in life to help me become the woman I wanted to grow into, one thing stands out that either helped or hindered my progress: the influences I allowed in my life over the years. I chose as a teen to live for God, to strive to make lifestyle choices that honored and pleased Him, and to put myself in a position to be used as much as possible in ministry and in reaching people for Christ. I didn’t have a career path in mind, but I knew I wanted to make a difference in people’s lives and to reach people with the Gospel. Putting myself in a position in life to accomplish that goal was more important to me than what job I would have or how much money I would make – things most people consider as the factors that indicate a successful life. To reach my goal in life of becoming a woman that honors and pleases God with her life and making a difference in peoples lives, I have to be aware of the influences that affect me. I can’t live to please God and live selfishly at the same time: I must choose which I will do.
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” ~Matthew 6:24
I recently read a book titled “Boundaries in Dating.” As can be expected by the title, it’s primarily about boundaries; how to determine what they are and then how to implement and enforce them in life. The book applies the principles to the arena of dating, but as I read I also see much application to other types of relationships such as friendships, acquaintances, and work relationships. The apostle Paul instructed Christians to “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.” (Philippians 4:5) Your moderation is your boundaries: what you will and will not tolerate in your life. It’s like drawing an imaginary line in the sand of your life: you must choose what influences you will allow to cross the line and which ones must be kept on the other side.
There is a great and yet tragic story in the Bible about a time when Moses drew an imaginary line in the sand of his life while facing the nation of Israel. While he was absent, getting the Ten Commandments from God, they ceased from keeping God first in their lives and living for Him. When God told Moses about the sin the Israelites were actively living in, Moses returned to the people. When he got back to the Israelites, Moses discovered that they had taken all their gold jewelry and melted it down and formed an idol in the shape of a calf, and were bowing down and worshiping the golden calf, instead of worshipping God. The idea came from the people of Egypt, where the Israelites had been enslaved for a very long time. At some point they had allowed the false worship of the Egyptians to influence them, and as soon as their leader was not watching the Israelites strayed from their true God. The consequences of that influence were very grave, the Israelites had no idea how much their selfish sin would cost them if they didn’t cease immediately. Exodus 32:26 tells us that: “Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord’s side? Let him come unto me.”Out of all the people of Israel, the Bible records that there were about three thousand who refused to do right, and that day they all lost their lives. Moses spoke to the Israelites again and says in verse 29: “Consecrate yourselves to day to the Lord, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.”
The consequence for the people of Israel was extreme, but the principle still applies to us today. You can’t live for God and live for yourself; you must choose. God has a plan and purpose for the life of every Christian, the question is will we ignore His plan and live for ourselves, accepting the consequences (whatever they may be); or will be choose to follow His plan and purpose for us and watch God work in our lives? If we are going to follow His plan and purpose for our life, we must be careful what influences we allow! The people of Israel did not start out intentionally sinning against God, but they allowed influences in their life and one day those influences played a part in the poor decision making that resulted in creating a golden calf to worship instead of trusting God.
The application is this: ten years from now, will you be living for God or living for yourself? If the answer is living for God, what influences are you allowing in your life? Will they aid you in following God’s path and purpose for your life, or will they distract and sideline you? Have you sat down and decided what path you will follow and what influences need to be avoided to be successful in staying on that path? Have you considered where you want your children to be when they are old enough to be making these decisions for themselves? Are there influences in their lives that will derail them along the way?
We cannot float through life allowing any influence that comes along to join itself to us and expect to make our destination. We must be intentional about where we are going and what we allow to influence us along the way. Will you draw a line in the sand of your heart?
