Managing Mistakes - Part 3

Finding meaningful work is one of the most important endeavors men and women seek in life. Ecclesiastes 5:19 specifically says that to be happy in one's work is a gift from God. The most important objective, although not always given first place, is finding peace with God by loving and seeking him with all your heart, soul, and strength.

Contentment with work depends on your motivation for work. My mother's  job was being a homemaker. She viewed this work as her career and still in her late seventies stayed busy doing what she defined as her job. She believed her work was a gift from God. Do you see your career as a means of helping others to be successful, either directly or indirectly?

Change must include altering your attitude about work. How would your attitude be affected if you believed your work was a gift from God? If this were possible, you might be more motivated to use your knowledge, skills, and wisdom to benefit the next generation destined to take your place. This would be a great choice for God and others.  

Managing Mistakes - Part 2

Our society has varying requirements for achieving success in a career. One motivation that drives people to strive for success is personal recognition and acceptance by peers and family. Singer/song writer John Denver's success gave him the means to exploit flying, which made him feel acceptable to his father, an Air Force test pilot.

In the drive to succeed it's almost impossible to avoid becoming self-absorbed, which requires staying singularly focused to limit distractions such as the family or an active spiritual life. For the self-absorbed, other important facets of life will have to be partially ignored.

Self-absorption overlooks giving others the essentials for making their lives successful. To change from being self-absorbed to other-centered requires analyzing your attitude about why to be successful. Jesus asked you, "What good will it be to gain the whole world and forfeit your soul?" This could include your family or your physical and spiritual well-being. You can make better choices.  

Managing Mistakes - Part 1

Getting older is desired by adolescents seeking independence and greater control over their destiny. With age comes the privilege of decision-making and the right to choose a career. But by mid-life, disappointments surface as a consequence of earlier choices. Facing disappointments is unavoidable, but the way they are managed depends on your attitude.

Mistakes and bad choices can be attributed to immaturity, but choosing to learn and mature requires being receptive to what God wants us to see about ourselves and to his plan for our future. While mid-life's uncertainties will come, we choose to cope by submitting our future to Christ Jesus who empowers us to make helpful choices and changes.

Your choices permit a shift from trusting your own intelligence and power to trusting God. Psalm 22:5 assures that those who trust in the Lord will not be disappointed. "Trust in the Lord and do good and he will cause you to dwell safely in the land." This is an assurance as well as a choice that ensures positive change.