Is goal setting the answer?

Many of you who are ambitious goal setters may have some difficulty with this piece.

A piece written by Brett Clemmer, of Man in the Mirror, appeared in ‘Equipping the Man in the Mirror’ and was titled ‘How do you set goals?’ Clemmer relates a story where a young man asked him how he set goals.

Following are Clemmer’s comments:

‘I was surprised at my own response: “I don’t really set goals any more” I said.’

For me, goals have been a double-edged sword. It’s not that I can’t achieve them; it’s just that they can become the singular driving force in my life. I have lost sight of the present because I was so focused on what I could accomplish over the next year.

This can be hard on the people around you. With my temperament, people can become tools to help me achieve my goals. And in case you haven’t noticed, people don’t like being treated like tools.

Even that’s not the worst part. When I get too focused on goals, it pushes God aside. For me, goals too easily become idols.

Recently, I realized that goals are not “first things.” Goals are “second things.” My conversation with K. helped me realize that I now try to live my life according to my values first. I’ve decided I will make sure that I am who I want to be before I worry about what I want to do.

This is especially cool for a Christian, because we don’t have to go on some quest to determine who we want to be. We have a model – Jesus – and a guidebook – the Bible to help us.

With a commitment to my values, I’m ready for whatever God puts in front of me. When I stopped worrying about accomplishing things and started being faithful to who and what God wants me to be, I became, well, happier. Content.”

Are you being who and what God wants you to be? I don’t think you get there by just doing what you are gifted to do. In other words, if you are only doing what God gave you the abilty to do then you aren't trusting Him. And if you aren't trusting God how can you teach others how to trust Him?

In the Bible, God used the most unlikely people many times to do things. The way they were able to do what God wanted was realizing they were not equipped to do it and by asking and trusting God to lead them. There is an old phrase I have heard that says let go and let God. It's all about becoming what God wants us to be.