Living Life by Design

We all live in a sea of anxiety and listlessness. This comes from constant comparison and FOMO (fear of missing out).

When I worked as a commercial truck salesman at Trans West Ford, in Fontana, California, we constantly played pranks on each other. During Thanksgiving and Christmas the owner of the dealership, Richard Textor would give each & every employee a Butterball Turkey, and an envelope with three $100 dollar bills. One year, a coworker thought it would be funny to tell me, “Wow! I can’t believe Mr. T’s generality, giving us $500 cash.” Instead of being grateful for the incredibly generous $300 I received, I was more concerned with what my coworker received. FOMO…fear of missing out.

Two of my young grandsons illiterate this further. You can give Alex (5) a new toy to play with, and regardless of how excited he is with that toy, the moment I give his brother Andrew (3) a toy, Alex will stop his playing and watch intently to make sure his brothers toy is not more fun than his. FOMO…fear of missing out.

The solution to FOMO can be found in the words with which Paul starts 1 Corinthians 7:17… ‘Don’t be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else (or have something else). Where you are right now is God’s place for you’ (v.17). 

Paul wants to spare us the ‘many troubles in this life’ (v.28). He tells us, ‘Don’t complicate your lives unnecessarily’ (v.29). His overriding concern, is ‘undivided devotion to the Lord’ (v.35) – the supreme aim of our lives.

When it’s all said and done, everything pales into insignificance besides the glory of living for and serving the Lord. It doesn’t matter if we’re single or married, young or old, working to support a family or retired. What really matters is an…‘unwavering devotion to the Lord’ (1 Corinthians 7:35).

Where are your priorities today?