Other people will determine your priorities if you don’t

Do you look back on selfies and are embarrassed by what you see? Maybe the mullet haircut in the 90s would’ve made Billy Ray Cyrus proud. Or if you’re like me, the fat, pot-bellied gut brings you shame. In January 2022, I was 219 pounds, easily 30 pounds overweight, and headed toward diabetes and a pacemaker.

I set a goal to lose weight, feel the very best I could every day, and grow stronger down the stretch of my later years.

Goals are essential to discovering and living a purpose-driven life. Goals are also biblical. Here’s why.

Five reasons setting goals is biblical

1 — Goals glorify God

This reason deserves a preface — a goal to sleep with as many women as you can doesn’t honor God. Godly goals glorify God. God created my body, and seeking good health is proper stewardship of His creation. The reverse is also true. Trashing His creations — our bodies, the planet, or other people is a sin.

God also gives us skills and abilities. Goals to sharpen our skills for His purposes glorify Him.

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)

2 — Goals provide clarity

I surveyed my thoughts and concluded that many people don’t think about what they want in life. They live unfocused, meandering lives, squandering the time God gives them. Taking time to consider what you want, or better yet, what God wants for you, provides clarity, allowing you to make a plan and live a purpose-driven life.

The Apostle Paul was highly focused. He said in Philippians 3:13–14,

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

3 — Goals promote growth

We’re supposed to grow in our faith as Christians. This growth process is called sanctification. Peter described the process in 2 Peter 1:5–8:

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Growth is an intentional, willing act that never happens by default. Goals provide the catalyst for growth. I set a goal to read through the entire Bible and have done so now four times in two years. This decision changed my life, and I’ve grown more in the past two years than in the previous ten.

4 — Goals determine priorities

A goal of mine is to write every morning before my day job. I must prioritize my bedtime to accomplish this goal because I can’t wake up at 5:00 am if I binge on The Sopranos until midnight.

You won’t learn the requisite skills to get a higher-paying job or launch your own business if you keep saying yes to every request that comes your way. Other people will determine your priorities if your goals don’t.

Proverbs 21:5 —

The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.

5 — Goals serve others

Godly goals make you a better person and more equipped to serve others. Eliminating debt provides more financial resources to give to good causes. Sharpening your vocational skills helps your employer. Goals focus your time, giving you more quality time for your family and serving your community.

A better you improves the lives of everyone around you.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3–4)

Wrapping it up

It’s not too late to live a goal-oriented life. I meandered into my 50s until God set me on the right course. Goals glorify God, provide clarity, promote personal growth, determine priorities, and serve others.

What are your goals? Let me know in the comments, and it’s probably time to ditch the mullet.

---

If you enjoyed this post and got value from it, please share it on your social media channels or send the link to a friend. I also invite you to follow the blog via email. 🙂