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LIVING LIFE ON PURPOSE
"Many plans are in a man's mind,
but it is the Lord's purpose for him
that will stand."
(Proverbs 9: 21)
Living Life On Purpose
or
Living A Habitual Life
We know that horses can be creatures of habit, but what about people? For many folks, life is nothing more than a series of habitual patterns that they've developed over a lifetime, rather than things they've chosen to do with specific purpose. Just as it is with horses, nothing is more counter-productive than living a life out of habit rather than living a life on purpose.
To the habitual junky, horse or human, doing the same thing at the same time, same place, same way each day, feels good. In fact, habitualness often masquerades as control and purposefulness, but it's not. It's still just a habit that one has chosen to do again, and again, and again.
Definition of Habit:
A routine behavior repeated regularly, and sometimes tending to occur subconsciously or involuntarily; a fixed way of thinking, being, feeling.
Definition of Purpose:
A voluntary behavior and active awareness; intentional and deliberate.
BREAKING THE HABIT
Now that we've looked at the distinct difference between a habit and a purpose, let's go a bit further. We'll let the horse give us an example of how getting ahead of the game can become a bad habit. Horses can be creatures of habit, and unless they're corrected promptly, they can become habitual offenders. For instance, let's talk about the above picture. You are actually seeing what happened after what happened - happened! Confused? Let me explain.
Seconds earlier, I was getting ready for a lope departure. I had slightly shifted my body weight, and moved my heel and spur into proper position to cue my horse for a gait change. In this case, a lope. My horse, Samson, has felt this slight shift of movement in the saddle thousands of times before, and he knows that it means we're getting ready to make a transition from one gait to another.
But this time, instead of waiting for my exact cue, Samson anticipated the change ahead of time. The result was, he decided to lope before I gave him the actual cue (order). It was a simple mistake brought on by his over-anticipation of what he thought I was going to ask of him. Good intentions, yes, but nevertheless, wrong actions. He was right in his assessment of what was coming. But he was wrong to jump the gun!
So what does this have to do with habits and purpose? Sometimes our habits are born out of good intentions, but the action is still wrong. No matter the innocence of the offense, we have to "break the habit" before it actually cements (hardens) and becomes a permanent and wrong action. As seen in the above picture, I correct Samson's behavior with a swift admonishment by lifting and bumping the reins. That is his reminder that his action was unacceptable, and he is not to repeat it again. When he comes back
"to my purpose instead of his purpose",
I quickly release the pressure, and he learns his lesson. The good news is, the beginning of a bad habit is nipped in the bud!
LIVING LIFE ON PURPOSE HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH OBEDIENCE, AND NOTHING TO DO WITH WILL POWER
"For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will and purpose but to do the will and purpose of Him who sent me."
(John 6: 38)
Living a successful life on purpose depends on one's obedience to a higher source. For you and me, that means living in obedience to God's Word. On the other hand, living life according to one's habits depends on nothing but one's own will power. That's why habitual living is bound to fail. Again, we'll let the horse help teach us. In the above picture, Samson is doing a maneuver called side-passing the pole. Because he's done it so many times, it would be easy for him to get in the "habit" of lining up his frame for a side-pass every time he sees a pole. But instead of seeing the pole as a trigger for a certain behavior, I want my horse to wait for my specific cue (order) before making a move. In other words, I'm not interested in his action (movement) as much as I am interested in his obedience. And that's exactly the way God feels about you and me. He's not up in heaven just looking for a lot of action out of His people, no matter how good those actions or intentions are. But He's always looking for obedience!
IF GOD HAS OUR OBEDIENCE, THEN HE CAN ACCOMPLISH ALL OF HIS PURPOSES IN OUR LIFE
This time, I've re-arranged the poles, and I'm asking my horse to disregard everything he's ever known about the poles before. Yes, we've side-passed them before, but that's not the plan today. Today our aim is to pass between the poles while maintaining a correct frame and straightness. Same old habitual poles - but brand new obedience game. The typical response from a "habitual offender" horse is to balk or refuse new orders, "But I'm in the habit of simply side-passing one pole. And now you've got two poles. Sorry, I just can't do that!" Or perhaps the horse takes a different but half-hearted stance, "Alright, I'll do it just this once, but it's going to take a lot of will-power on my part to get the job done."
My answer to that horse is, "I'm not interested in how you've always done it (your habits) and I'm not interested in your will power. That will fail you. I'm interested in your obedience." And why is obedience so important? Obedience is important because it's all about being disciplined. And it takes a disciplined person to live life on purpose!
IT TAKES DISCIPLINE TO
LIVE LIFE ON PURPOSE
"Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent) people."
(Ephesians 5: 15, amplified Bible)
Samson's blue ribbon western pleasure walk is not a product of habit. It's a product of discipline. There's a difference!
Definition of Discipline
The word discipline is a derivative of the word disciple. It means a voluntary behavior, and an adherence to a specific order of conduct. It is an active awareness and a deliberate intention with a target or specific goal in mind.
In Ephesians 5: 15, we're told that we should live our lives purposefully, and worthily, and accurately. In other words, we're to be actively involved in living our life on purpose! And that takes discipline. Wow - when you think about it, that's a pretty tall order. So, how do we live our life with purpose and discipline? It starts with a voluntary decision. A decision to ask Jesus Christ to come in to our heart and be the Lord of our life. Once we've accepted Christ as Lord, then we are empowered to live a disciplined life (adhering to a specific order of conduct) rather than a life of habit. And how do we become empowered? One things for sure, we can't do it on our own. No habit or amount of will power will empower us. We become empowered by becoming a disciple - a follower - and an imitator of Jesus Christ. And that, my friend is how we live life on purpose!
"And the world passes away and disappears, and with it the forbidden cravings; but he who does the will of God and carries out His purposes in life abides forever."
(1 John 2: 17)
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