It must have been 20 years ago that I remember thinking about a few people I admired deeply-- Paul and Jenni, my Dad and Jose Maria of Utrera. And I tried to think of the common thread that made them so admirable to me. I came up with the word "intentional." They spent their days, made their decisions with great intentionality.
Lately that word has come up quite often. Last year in JH when Jac taught on Intentionality, it sparked some great discussion on defining values and living them out. For Jac, it was loving God and loving people. Last Sunday, first Jay Kessler landed on Intentionality wrapping up his sermon on Lot and Abraham-- and then in Joint Heirs Larry read this verse:
"Be very careful, then, how you live- not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity," (Ephesians 5:15)
In the car last week, I heard a psychologist on NPR talking about happiness. He said the people who were the most happy were those who had defined values and lived up to their own expectations for themselves according to those values. That could mean a lot of different lifestyles depending on a what a person does value. But it sounds like intentionlity to me! For me it's keeping in my mind the values of living a life pleasing to God and one that loves other people unselfishly-- not as easy as it sounds on paper.
When you're in your 50's, you realize you have less opportunties left to live (Epsh 5) than you used to! Luis Palau said your life is a coin you can only spend once. So my hope is to spend my remaining opportunities with great intentionality.
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2 comments:
Just playing devil's advocate... did Hitler and Saddam Husain have clearly defined values and do things with clear intention? So it's not just that...
"That could mean a lot of different lifestyles depending on a what a person does value."
Oops, ignore my first comment. you already said it! Will read more carefully next time.
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