I Owe It To Myself To...

“The plans of the diligent lead to plenty

as surely as haste leads to poverty.”
Proverbs 21:5

Asking someone to complete a sentence like that above will often bring some rather interesting results. I’m guessing that, in this case, the majority of answers would reflect someone rewarding themselves for their hard work and constant business, along these lines:

• I owe it to myself to have a night out.
• I owe it to myself to have a little fun.
• I owe it to myself to take a day off. 
• I owe it to myself to go out shopping.

Writing this, I can’t help but wonder if David thought he owed it to himself when he sent for Bathsheba to be brought to him. Or if Judas thought he owed it to himself when he stole from the money bag that he held. And we could wonder the same about the decisions of so many others who made short term decisions that ultimately undermined their futures.

“What do I really owe myself?” Here are some examples for you to consider:

• I owe it to myself to think my decisions through before acting so that I don’t live for the moment but lose sight of the big picture.
• I owe it to myself to spend time in God’s Word, on a daily basis, so that I have the guidance that is needed in my life to make wise decisions. 
• I owe it to myself to think before I spend so that my future is not spent paying off old debts rather than being free to follow God’s leading.
• I owe it to myself to develop strong, healthy relationships so that I have others to help me in the situations where I can’t see clearly and struggle to be objective.
• I owe it to myself to pay the price now, in hard work, in diligence, in how I spend my time, and in study, so that my future is not based on a dream or wishful thinking but on the reality of the effort I have expended on growing as a person and as a Christian.
• I owe it to myself to make spiritual matters, time spent with the Lord in prayer and devotion, a priority so that I don’t find myself empty from having built a life on the values and desires of this life while minimizing the life that is to come.

As David wrote, “the plans of the diligent lead only to plenty.” Let’s look down the road of life and do those things today that, deep down in our hearts, we know that we owe to ourselves.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe