Intentional Living

The book of Proverbs warns us against being lazy.  It doesn't have anything good to say about the sluggard, the one who just drifts through life.  For instance, Proverbs 13:4 says,”The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied."  "The Message" states that same verse this way,”Indolence wants it all and gets nothing; the energetic have something to show for their lives."

There is a physics principle called "inertia."  This is "the tendency of a body to resist acceleration; the tendency of a body at rest to remain at rest or of a body in straight line motion to stay in motion in a straight line unless acted on by an outside force."  In simpler words, a body that isn't moving tends to stay still, and body that is moving tends to keep moving.  You can blame inertia for the struggle to get out of bed in the morning.  It is the reason getting started is usually the hardest part of a task.  However, inertia helps us to continue a task once we have started it.  I often have to push myself to get out of my recliner and take my shower, but once I've started I don't stop until I am dressed.

The force which changes our bodies at rest into bodies in motion is usually our wills.  My point is this:  if we want to accomplish something, we generally have to determine to do it, to be intentional.  Housework doesn't just happen.  Neither does taking care of our other responsibilities or accomplishing anything special we would like to do.

The pull of inertia is strong, and we can give in to it and stagnate.  We can become lazy like the sluggard.  Or we can set worthy goals and strive toward meeting them.  Joyce Meyer wrote in her book "Trusting God Day By Day,"  "One of the most valuable things I have learned is to do things on purpose rather than waiting until I feel like doing them......If you take this aggressive action, living on purpose and refusing to stagnate, it will make a big difference in your quality of life."

Father, I want to live intentionally.  Give me the desire and the energy to fight the pull of inertia.  Make my life count for Your kingdom.  May I fulfill every purpose for which You created me.  Amen.