9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 11 But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
This instruction from Paul to his protege Timothy is all about focusing on the right things. If loving anything leads you away from the Lord, leads you to stray from the faith, leads you to behave in ways that don’t line up with scripture, then you have your focus in the wrong place. Sit with the Lord today. Ask Him to help you see where your focus has been, and ask Him to help you re-set your gaze on Him and re-prioritize the affections of your heart and the preoccupations of your mind. If it’s worry, give it to Him. If it’s ambition, ask Him to make your greatest ambition to make His Name famous. You know, He has put the desire and potential for greatness inside each one of us. God made us in His image, so of course He planted the potential for greatness inside of us, and He longs to see us reach our full potential. There are two things that really count in the pursuit of greatness though -- 1) how we channel our efforts and 2) whether we choose to take the glory for ourselves or give it to Him. And both of these things will reflect whether we have been focused on the right things.
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