Be Goals

I first heard about the concept of "Be Goals" from Andy Stanley's Leadership podcast.  Andy Stanley is a pastor of North Point Community Church and he is a gifted pastor, but I get as much out of his leadership podcast as I do his sermons.

We typically set action oriented goals going into the new year such as lose weight, clean house, manage finances, etc.  There is nothing wrong with setting these goals.  However, these goals do not really define who we are.  Be Goals define who we are.  For example,

• Be strong
• Be committed
• Be a man of integrity

For me, being a man of God trumps everything else.  I know that if I am a man of God, I can be a better spouse, CEO, professor, friend, neighbor, etc.  Establishing a strong vertical relationship with God is the prerequisite to establishing strong horizontal relationships. 

So commitment to Be Goals starts with being the man God wants me to be.  I also think the goal of being a man of God also translates to strong actions.  I find I stink at willing myself to action goals.  It takes all of a week for me to break down.  Because my outward condition is driven my inward condition.  So Be Goals strengthen the inner person which provides me the means to strengthen the outer person. 

AS IS - Great Expectations in the New Year

Today is New Years Day, a time for setting unrealistic expectations of ourselves for the coming year.  I am no different.  I now have a motivator as our daughter got engaged on December 24 and will be married sometime next August.  You can see the details here.  When Meghan got married, I set a goal of losing 10 pounds and came up just short.  After the gluttony of the holidays, I am a woeful 221 pounds which is very heavy for me.  Even the difference between 215 and 220 is substantial.  I am one who is motivated by goals and I am setting a target of 200 for the next wedding.

Isn't it great that God does not set New Years resolutions on us?  Don't get me wrong - He wants us to be everything we can be (Jesus says "be perfect", what a tall order).  However He fully accepts us as we are.  There is nothing we have to do performance wise to be perfect in His eyes.  He esteemed us of such high value that He sacrificed His own Son to pay the penalty of our imperfection.

There is legal terminology that is used quite frequently in sales contracts.  It usually is in all caps and bold letters and it says "AS IS".  Usually that means that there is some defect in the item being sold and the seller wants to be sure that he is not held liable for any expectations of workmanship or quality.  By using those magic words, he covers his behind.  God accepts us AS IS, defects and all.  I thought further that marriage is also the same way and that is why it is a picture of Christ and the church.  I accept my wife AS IS and she accepts me AS IS warts and all.  We have both had meltdowns over the holidays which seems to further support the AS IS proposition.

But I think there is more to the picture than just AS IS.  If that were all there was, then we might be tempted to say "que sera", whatever will be, will be.  God accepts us AS IS but He sees us as FUTURE POTENTIAL.  That means that He sees us in the process of what theologians call progressive sanctification.  That means that that are defects can be restored and made new.  That is possible through God working through us to conform us to the His image.  When He does that, He reveals to us the defects and then progressively changes us if we can let him.  Applying it to marriage, my wife is keenly aware of her own failings, but I see her much differently.  I see her as a woman of immense talent and creativity and my desire is to see her grow in that creativity.  She misses it, but I as her life partner see it.

We also see it in our children.   Our oldest is now 26 and a professional customer service representative and cartoonist.  We saw her creative potential when she was young and our job was to urge that and then not get in the way.  It is so neat to see how they have grown and matured often times in spite of our parental failings.  We accept her AS IS and but saw in her FUTURE POTENTIAL.

It is easy to make unrealistic resolutions and get down on ourselves.  Praise God that we get the best of both worlds.  We get accepted AS IS, but we are still works in progress that God can continue to develop and nurture.