Change the outcomes

People who live following their sinful selves think only about what they want. But those who live following the Spirit are thinking about what the Spirit wants them to do. If your thinking is controlled by your sinful self, there is spiritual death. But if your thinking is controlled by the Spirit, there is life and peace. (Romans 8:5-6)

Thinking or not thinking - both can present problems we might not want to deal with. If we think upon things that are not honorable or will bring dishonorable actions into our lives, we get the resulting problems associated with those sinful thoughts. If we fail to think before we act, relying only upon what feels good to us at the moment, we will reap the results that will not always be very rewarding or wonderful. Thinking must be controlled - it cannot just be willy-nilly. If we are to live upright lives, we need a 'thinking partner' in this walk. That is why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to live within us. We need his presence to help us filter out the 'not so good' thoughts and rehearse the ones that lead us into right actions.

One thing I have learned about my own thoughts is to question if what I am about to say or do is based upon what I want, excluding how it may affect others. That is what our passage says - people who live following their sinful selves think ONLY about what THEY want. When I stop long enough to consider how my way of thinking will affect others if I act upon what I am thinking, I often will not take that particular action. Why? It would not honor them, or it would present difficulties within the relationship. There are times when I think one thing but find God prompting me to see things a bit differently than the way I have been looking at those things. Why? God knows if I continue along that way of thinking I will produce actions that will bring less than desirable consequences.

It didn't come naturally to me to begin my day by asking God's Spirit to take control of my thoughts, but once I did, I also found myself asking him to take control of my words and all the actions in my day. Why? Thoughts lead to words and actions - I need his help to make the most of both of those! It isn't hard to ask the Spirit to take the lead in your thought life, but it is a little harder to listen to his leading! It is that age-old issue of knowing what is right, but not always choosing to act upon what you know to be right. As long as I seek his help with the day, I am placing myself in the best possible position to see the outcomes within my day be the best they can be. The same will be true for you. Just sayin!

What you see from up there?

Men and women of understanding know there is a time and place for everything.  The events of today prepare us for those of tomorrow.  We may not always see clearly today what tomorrow holds, but we do know if we conduct our affairs to the best of our ability today, listening intently to the voice of God as we do, we will be in a better position for what tomorrow brings.  Our "U" List character trait is actually linked to being men and women of understanding: Upright.  Most of us think of this as being in line with what is right, but it also means being directed vertically.  In a spiritual sense, isn't this how it is we are to conduct our "business" of today - directed vertically, upward in our focus?  

Lord, who shall dwell [temporarily] in Your tabernacle? Who shall dwell [permanently] on Your holy hill?  He who walks and lives uprightly and blamelessly, who works rightness and justice and speaks and thinks the truth in his heart... (Psalm 15:1-2 AMP)

David begins to examine this idea of uprightness in the 15th Psalm.  His opening statement causes us to consider two aspects of our walk - the here and now, and the future state of our existence.  The here and now is temporary - the future is permanent.  He poses one question - who gets to commune with the Holy God?  The answer - those who walk blamelessly (upright).  Then he begins to add a litany of evidence of the one who actually walks in an upright manner - things like being just, speaking and thinking truth in his/her heart, etc.  We have been considering most of these same traits all along over the past 21 days!  

I think the idea here is one of walking above the defilement of this present day.  This may seem difficult to some, but I believe it is possible when we keep our focus "vertical".  If we stop viewing things from the "horizontal" perspective, we begin to see them differently.  When we are "horizontal" in our focus, we see others, often comparing our actions to theirs.  We get wrapped up in the "littleness" of today's demands and forget to maintain the perspective of one who is on mission for Jesus.  "Vertical" focus provides a framework for living in this world without being overcome by its pulls. 

Horizontal focus doesn't give us a real perspective, does it?  Try this with me. Stand up where you are right now.  Look around the room or place you are standing maintaining a focus which is at eye level (don't raise your head).  What do you see?  I am in my den, so I see computer, computer desk, bookshelf, etc.  Now, look up.  What do you see now?  How much of what you saw when you were just focusing on a "horizontal" level do you still have in your view?  Some of it, right?  Yet, it is less than you had before.  On a "horizontal" level, we tend to look as far as our eye can see from the ground up to about a foot over our eye level.  Turn your eyes upward and the possibilities of focus are vastly different.  Now, indulge me one more illustration.  If you are able, climb up on a step stool for a moment in your same room.  Now, look horizontally again - what changed?  Your perspective is affected by where you are standing, is it not?  The same is true in a spiritual sense.  Where we are "standing" at the moment creates a vantage point for a variety of different perspectives.

From the step stool vantage point, you might see some spots you haven't dusted in a while, or perhaps a little cobweb gathering in the corner of the ceiling.  Maybe you look down and see just how cluttered your "space" really is.  Vantage point is important, isn't it?  Maybe this is why God doesn't want his kids just living continually on the horizontal level.  He knows we see a whole lot of obstacles and impossibilities on that level!  When we take our eyes off the obstacles and begin to anchor them vertically on him, the obstacles are no longer in our view.  The "clutter" doesn't get us all muddled up and unable to see beyond the mess we are in.  Instead, we can sort out some things and see them in an entirely new perspective.  If you have ever flown in an airplane, you know what I mean - you see things in a different perspective.  I flew over one our our huge water parks once and actually saw the wave machine at the back of the huge "ocean wall" - the "ocean" where people practice their surfing and boogie boarding was merely a creation of some turbines creating these artificial waves.   The vastness of the water park looked small in comparison.

Perspective helps us "right size" our lives challenges.  Maintaining an upright focus is key to getting right perspective.  Uprightness is merely determining where our focus will be and maintaining it regardless of the pull to do otherwise.  Just sayin!