Big Idea #1 From Me
One price of success is the higher scrutiny you will be subject to.
Perhaps the reason you’re still at your current level is because of the private battles you’ve not won yet.
Perhaps God is protecting you and you’re experiencing a dimension of grace to change your ways before it’s too late.
Everyone knows the role that Martin Luther King Jr (MLK) played in the civil rights movement.
Naturally, because of his prominent role in the struggle against inequality, MLK was subject to greater scrutiny by the powers that be.
What they found wasn’t pretty.
Behind the cool, calm and charismatic Reverend that gave the “I have a dream” speech, the FBI found a man who drank, smoked, spoke vulgar and had multiple sexual partners.
While some of the FBI findings were released sometime in 2019, this image of MLK had been painted by his associates in books they wrote as far back as the 1980s.
If you look through the annals of history, you’d find it littered with the blood and bones of great men who may have gotten public victories but were limited by their private battles.
I’m reminded of the story of the two wolves:
‘A fight is going on inside every person. It’s a terrible fight between two wolves. One is evil and the other is good. The wolf that will win is the one that is fed”
This story is instructive.
Take care of your private battles. Do everything in your power to avoid joining the list of casualties on the road to destiny.
Big Idea #2 From Research
In his journal paper titled, “The Effect of Language on Economic Behavior: Evidence from Savings Rate, Health Behavior and Retirement Savings“, researcher Keith Chen showed that people who spoke languages which made no separation between the present and the future were more likely to make good decisions in the present that led to better future outcomes.
Consider two languages: English and Chinese.
Suppose you want to tell someone that you’re going to save money when you get paid your salary at the end of the month.
If you’re speaking English, you’d say:
“I WILL save money at the end of the month”
As you can see, there’s a separation between the present and the action you want to take in the future.
On the other hand, in Chinese, that separation doesn’t exist. A Chinese speaker wanting to express the same idea will say something which when translated to English will mean,
“I save money at the end of the month”
By running analysis with tons of data from different countries, the study demonstrated that people from cultures where the language did not separate the present from the future were more likely to save more, retire with wealth, smoke less and maintain a healthy weight. This seems to support the hypothesis that the way ‘future time’ is talked about influences the way ‘future time’ is thought about. If your language prevents you from seeing your future as disconnected from your present, you are less likely to take your actions in the present with levity.
My key takeaway from the study is that your words have an impact on your thoughts which will, in turn, influence your actions. To change your life, start with the manner you speak.
Big Idea #3 From the Bible
Proverbs 21:5 says, “The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness, but everyone that is hasty only to want”
The word translated “diligent” implies the continual act of mining for gold or digging a trench.
No one digs for gold by striking the topsoil once with a shovel before giving up.
Yet, when we think, we don’t hold our thoughts and spiritual impressions long enough for them to take root.
The Bible promises that if you’re diligent with the thoughts that God impresses upon your heart in the same manner a man mining for gold continues to digs, you will lead a fulfilling life.
Perhaps the reason you’re facing chaos in your life is because you’re too hasty in thought – refusing to consider a thought long enough before jumping into your next bout of busyness and distraction.
May the Lord grant you understanding in these things.
