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by Bob and Debby Gass
Focus on Your Opportunities, Not Your Rights
February 15, 2014
‘…Whatever is right…think about [it]…’ Philippians 4:8 NIV
People and circumstances don’t determine your attitude, you do! To win in life you must learn to focus on your opportunities, not your rights. Paul wrote from a prison cell, ‘Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.’ Clearly, circumstances could lock Paul in, but they couldn’t keep him down.
One of the biggest causes of discontent is our constant struggle to ‘secure our rights’. Have you been wronged? Do you feel like you haven’t received a fair shake? That’s because you live in an imperfect world. And as long as you do, you won’t see a time when everything you do is justly rewarded. So you’re faced with a decision: Are you going to spend your time and energy on what should have been, or get over it and focus on what can be? Even when truth and justice are on your side, you may never be able to right all your wrongs. But ultimately God will, so leave it in His hands. Continually ‘fighting for your rights’ just makes you angry and resentful, because these destructive emotions sap your energy and make you negative. And besides, when you focus on your rights you’re usually looking backward. You can’t make progress when you’re facing the wrong way!
Only when you focus in the right direction will you move in the right direction. Now this doesn’t mean you won’t experience pain; it just means you choose to forgive, and zero in on what you can control: your attitudes and your opportunities.
Soulfood: Heb 1–4, Matt 14:1–12, Ps 145:14–21, Pro 4:23–24
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2014
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