What’s in it for me? What am I willing to give up in order to get what I want? Where is my line in the sand? You answer each of these questions about your life on a daily, almost moment-by-moment, basis. You answer these questions so that you will know what you will do, what you will say, what you are willing to give up or what you are willing to gain, in any given situation. Will I make that call? Will I take that drink? Will I sign that deal? Will I let that go?
All of these questions are answered based on what is important to you, relevant to you, worthwhile to you and pleasing to you, in any given moment in time. Oh, and if you rationalize all of this away as not pertaining to you, for you simply answer all of these questions in the heat of the moment, you have already, without even knowing it, answered all of these questions. You cannot avoid you, in any given situation. Wherever you go, there you will be. Thinking that you do not already have answers to these questions is a self-guided boat tour down the denial river.
You can have your cake and eat it to. Not only can you have your cake and eat it to, life will force you to have your cake and eat it to. You decide who you will be, what you will do, the steps that you are willing to take and the other steps that you are not willing to take. In response, your life will bake you a cake, made of your decisions, that you are required to eat. For eating your cake is nothing more than living into the consequences of the decisions that you have made.
Your decisions will always be based on what you believe. What you believe about yourself, the world, others, God, Heaven, Hell, good, bad, right, wrong, up, down, will all influence what you are willing to do and what you are unwilling to do. These beliefs will reveal what’s in it for you. These beliefs will tell you what you are willing to give up in order to get what you want. These beliefs define your line in the sand. These beliefs define who you are.
Knowing all of this makes it that much more important for you to discover and acknowledge your answers to life’s questions. For in your answers you will discover who you are. In discovering who you are you can then decide whether or not you like who you are. Are you happy with who you are and where you are going? If yes, you can simply move on with your life. Nothing to see here. Are there fundamental changes that you would like to see in your life? If yes, then you can get real about it and allow God to walk with you as you reexamine yourself, your decisions and the answers to your questions.
In other words, the cake that you have been eating, doesn’t have to remain the same cake day in, day out, for the rest of your life. You decide what cake you will eat. You decide what’s in it for you. You decide what you want and what you will give up. You decide your line in the sand. All of this is a gift from God and a glorious sign of God’s love and grace. So, if you want to make fundamental changes in your life, who would be better to help you answer all of these questions but the one who created you and loves you?