This post still has me thinking. This quote from Andy Stanley, in particular, really has my wheels turning:
To be a leader worth following, we must pre-decide to prioritize our integrity over our quest for progress.
So I've been thinking about what it means to pre-decide. To me, that means that I've made up my mind in advance about certain things and nothing is going to trump those decisions. I call them non-negotiables. They're the things that are the lead pipe, stone cold locks that I will not deviate from. Want some examples?
My family will be in church on Sundays. It's a non-negotiable. There's nothing that's going to trump going to church on Sunday mornings. Not ballgames or golf outings or (fill in the blank). You might say, "John isn't that a hard line, legalistic approach? Maybe. But Jenny and I have decided that for our family, church rates extremely high. It's important to us that our kids grow up knowing that heart issues--our spiritual well-being is the most important thing in life. So we don't bend on this one. If we bend so our kids can play in a sports league or do whatever on Sunday mornings--as important as it may seem, what we'd basically be conveying to our kids is, "Yeah, church is important...until a new or better opportunity comes along."
Another non-negotiable for us is tithing. This is one that you absolutely must pre-decide on. Because there WILL be other opportunities to spend your money. The tithe check is the first check written in our house. So we're saying God gets the first day of the week in our lives--church...always. And God gets the first 10% of our income--the tithe...always. And you know what. It's not as difficult when you've pre-decided that this is going to be a non-negotiable.
One more (there are many but I'll limit it to three here). My marriage. Jenny and I have decided to remove the "D" word from our vocabulary. Divorce is not an option for us. We have pre-decided that this is a non-negotiable. We're in the marriage thing for the long haul...no matter what.
How huge is it for my kids to grow up understanding the principle of pre-deciding? How 'bout when it comes to staying sexually pure till marriage? How 'bout when it comes to peer-pressure situations? How about in their marriages...their finances...raising kids?
Well, I hope this has primed your pump a bit. Leave a comment...I want to know...what are the non-negotiables in your life?
1 comments:
We have always called these things the "line in the sand" We don't cross it. Great post, Thanks
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