The Why Behind the What

I don't know about you, but my natural inclination is to coast.  You know, just let the momentum of previous effort or of gravity to do the work, so that I can take a break.  I tend to go through long periods where I just do what is easy or familiar, rather than what is excellent.

I can see the evidence all around me that this is not a good plan.  When I coast at home, the dishes pile up, the trash piles up, and we run out of wood for the wood stove, leading us to burn more oil, sending dollars up the chimney.  Coasting leads me to buy lunch instead of packing it, which leads to ingesting more calories and wasting money.  Coasting leads me to skip the gym, or my daily scripture reading.  Coasting leads me to letting the kids watch cartoons or play video games rather than engaging them.  Coasting leads me to plan my youth group lessons the night before, rather than planning, praying and preparing.

When you've had lots of success in the past, you can build up lots of momentum, and coasting can carry you for a good long time.  It can even go unnoticed that you are loosing speed, if it happens gradually.  The more momentum you had, the longer you can coast before crisis hits.  There is an old Irish proverb that seems quite apt "He who has a reputation for rising at dawn can sleep until noon."

Maybe it's only me, but haven't you had that moment when you realize your house, your car, your weight, or some other aspect of life is such a mess that you just don't even know where to start making it right?  Maybe that realization hits you on multiple fronts all at once, and the temptation is to just bury your head in the sand.  I know that's what happens to me.

So when I wake up to the fact that I've been coasting.  Coasting as a dad, coasting as a husband, coasting as a leader, coasting as an employee, coasting as a disciple, how do I get back on track?

For me the answer is in looking at 'the why behind the what',  i.e. 'motivation'.  Why do I want/need to put in some effort here?

If my house is cleaner, my wife knows I love her.  If I engage my kids, rather than plugging them into some piece of tech, then they are much more inclined to be obedient respectful and responsible, and better equipped to be the men God wants them to be.  If I stop wasting money on donunts and pizza, not only will I be healthier, but I will be able to spend money on something of greater value. If I am purposeful with what I teach teens and parents, then I will get to hear my King say, well done, good and faithful servant. 

If I continue coasting, then I have only to look at proverbs to see what happens to the fool and the sluggard, I can look at Matthew to see what happens to lazy servants and I can look at Revelation and see what happens to the luke warm.

What would it look like if I had a reason for everything that I do.  What reason could I find to watch netflix? what is the rational for spending so much time playing games on my ipad?  What decisions do I make everyday that I really cannot justify?

I've been coasting.  Making decisions because they are easy, not because they are right.  I'm almost out of momentum, and it's time to take a good long look at the "Why" behind "What" I do.