How you define life determines your destiny. Your perspective will influence how you invest your time, spend your money, use your talents, and value your relationships.
One of the best ways to understand other people is to ask them, “How do you see your life?” You will discover that there are as many different answers to that question as there are people. I’ve been told that life is a circus, a minefield, a roller coaster, a puzzle, a symphony, a journey, and a dance. People have said, “Life is a carousel: Sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re down, and sometimes you just go round and round” or “Life is a ten-speed bicycle with gears we never use” or “Life is a game of cards: You have to play the hand you are dealt.”
If I asked how you picture life, what image would come to your mind? That image is your life metaphor. It’s the view of life that you hold, consciously or unconsciously, in your mind. It’s your description of how life works and what you expect from it. People often express their life metaphors through clothes, jewelry, cars, hairstyles, bumper stickers, or even tattoos.
Your unspoken life metaphor influences your life more than you realize. It determines your expectations, your values, your relationships, your goals, and your priorities. For instance, if you view life as a party, your primary value in life will be having fun. If you see life as a race, you’ll value speed and will probably be in a hurry much of the time. If you view life as a marathon, you’ll value endurance. If you see life as a battle or a game, winning will be very important to you. What is your view of life?
Have you ever paused to consider that you may be basing your life on a faulty metaphor? You may have picked it up from a parent, from your friends, from the movies you watch or magazines you read, or from some other fallible source. But to fulfill the purposes God made you for, you’ll have to challenge conventional wisdom and replace it with God’s metaphors of life. The Bible says, “Do not conform ourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God.”
The Bible offers three metaphors that teach us God’s view of life: Life is a test, life is a trust, and life is a temporary assignment. These ideas are the foundation of purpose-driven living. We’ll look at the first two in this chapter and the third one in the next
No comments:
Post a Comment