Focusing On The Goal

Focusing on the Goal

Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.

Proverbs 4:25-27

IRONIC, ISN’T IT, that with all the “time savers” of modern technology, we seem to have even less time for each other? Microwaves, remote controls, dishwashers, and computers were supposed to save us valuable time. But what happened to all that extra time? Apparently, it got gobbled up by other activities. Can we reclaim some of that time for our marriages? The answer is yes, if we set goals and make time to reach those goals.

The passage above from Proverbs 4 shows King Solomon’s advice for meeting goals. Essentially, it comes down to knowing where you’re going, setting a straight path to get there, and not getting sidetracked. That’s the approach we need to take if we’re going to meet our goals for marriage.

How do we make time? By eliminating some of the good things we are doing so that we will have time for the best. Life’s meaning is not found in money, sports, shopping, academic success, or career achievement, as good as some of those things are. It is found in relationships—first with God, and then with people. If you are married, nothing is more important than your marital relationship. It is the framework in which God wants you to invest your life and experience his love. The husband is told to “love” his wife, and she is instructed to “honor” him. How better to love and honor than to make time for each other?

Father, thank you for the goals we’ve been able to set for our relationship. I pray for the wisdom and self-control to keep looking straight ahead at the goal. Let us not be distracted by other things that could keep us from meeting our goal, even if they’re good things. Please show us how to straighten out our priorities.

Goals