As I send at the end of yesterday’s post, today we’re going to look at the yes’s we need to say in our lives. While each yes we say will bring with it a corresponding no or no’s, we’re going to emphasize the necessary yes’s right now. What is the most important yes you need to make in your life right now? What is the one thing you need to do that will increase your effectiveness as a leader, or your value as an employer or employee, or your faithfulness as a spouse, parent or child? I know that’s a big question, but sometimes we need to ask ourselves big questions.
As I’ve reflected on that question over the past several couple of months now, the single most important yes I have needed to say, and I need to say it over and over again is yes to having God be first in my life. You may not believe in God. You may not believe that Jesus Christ is God, but I do. He said, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all the things you need will be added to you.” (See Matthew 6:33) I have known that statement since I was a child. I have believed that statement is true since I was a child. Yet, when I wake up in the morning I don’t always say yes to it. I don’t always live as if seeking God’s kingdom and His righteousness is the first priority of my life.
I need to say yes to that reality, because when I do, I know what else to say yes and no to in my life. Each of us needs a frame of reference, a worldview, a culture out of which we live and move and have our being. We have many from which to choose, but I have chosen to say yes to a biblical worldview. In that worldview God is always the first yes. From that yes, I may move forward in every area of my life: the spiritual, physical, emotional, and so on. When I say yes to God I orient my calendar and checkbook accordingly. In other words, I schedule my time and spend my money with the realization that it isn’t my time and my money. It all belongs to God.
You may not believe that. I do. Therefore, my yes’s must all stem from that reality. What is your worldview? What frame of reference is your “stake in the ground,” from which you cannot be moved? Do you have one? Saying yes starts with responding to those key questions, because until we know who we are, and I would add “whose” we are, we will have a challenging time saying yes to what matters. We won’t know what matters until we have said our primal yes to whomever or whatever it is that matters most in our lives. I would contend we are all ultimately better off when God is our first yes. That is my frame of reference.
Whatever your frame of reference, in order to get the most out of life as you understand it, saying your yes’s in a way that is consistent will bring the most satisfaction, or ought to do so. The reason I say it ought to do so, is internal consistency or congruence is the best position from which to live our lives. The challenge is the biblical worldview contends it is the superior worldview and we won’t find ultimate identity, destiny or purpose in our lives until we recognize that God has created us and revealed our identity, destiny and purpose through His Son, Jesus Christ. You don’t have to believe that, but I pray you will if you don’t.
I don’t pray it because I get a reward if you do, but because you do. You will have the potential to live your yes’s in a way that matters for today and for eternity. Let me conclude this post by saying each of us will decide on our “stake in the ground.” It may be following Jesus and therefore seeking first God’s Kingdom and righteousness. It may be following a religion to bring order and purpose. It may be pursuing fame and fortune, or it may be just going with the flow.
My guess is if your purpose is to go with the flow, you won’t have just stumbled across my blog and won’t be joining us on a regular basis. If your purpose is to pursue fame and fortune, you will find much here of value when it comes to the leadership skills and pursuits that will help you attain your goals. If you are following a religious path to order and bring purpose to your life, you will find much of value here, too. But if you are open to the truth that there is one God, who created all that exists, and that He has a Son, named Jesus, who lived, died, rose again and returned to heaven from which He sent His Spirit to empower our lives on a daily basis, your yes’s will gain their greatest power.
I believe everyone ought to be challenged by choice. While I believe Jesus Christ is Savior and Lord of all, and that truth doesn’t require you or me to believe it in order for it to be true, until we believe in Him we will pursue another yes in our lives. In any case, saying yes moves us from where we are to a different place over time. The “big” yes in our lives will determine all our other yes’s, which is why I’ve invested so much time on it today. Tomorrow, we’ll consider why no is also a critical word and action for our leadership.
Here’s to leading better by anchoring ourselves in one, ultimate yes, in order to give meaning and purpose to our lives and leadership–today!