The Flinch and New Years

A couple interesting thoughts from a short little book called The Flinch (best of all- the book is free on your Kindle!):

• You say you want to be successful. You think you’re working hard. You think all you need is your lucky break. Wrong. You haven’t done what’s necessary at all. You haven’t made the sacrifices. You haven’t put in the time. You haven’t faced the flinch. You haven’t learned the lessons and you don’t have the scars. Not for the fights that matter. Look, there’s a fight happening right now- quite a few, actually. You can turn on the TV and watch them on any channel. World hunger, AIDS, the next billion-dollar business, even in your own family- they’re all there. You watch these fights all the time, but are you actually fighting right now? Most people rarely get in the ring for what matters. Instead, the fight gets fought by other people, elsewhere. Everyone talks about it like they want to be involved, but it’s just talk. The truth is that they can’t handle the pressure. They’re not in the ring because they aren’t ready to do what’s necessary to win.

• The common will capture your attention as long as it’s allowed in the room. Whatever you’re used to, whether cigarettes, shopping, or Twitter, must be eliminated in the quest to get into the ring. You must make a sacrifice on the altar of greatness and perform acts that others will now. If you aren’t willing to sacrifice your comfort, you don’t have what it takes. Set fire to your old self. It’s not needed here. It’s too busy shopping, gossiping about others, and watching days go by and asking why you haven’t gotten as far as you’d like.

If you're considering making a New Year's resolution, some words to ponder.

And while the author is primarily concerned with the world of work, so much of this rings true for those who want to grow closer in their relationship with Jesus. In my last sermon I talked about time and how much (or little) time it actually takes to begin spending time with Jesus each day. Hillcrest produces a daily devotional each week- it's part of our bulletin- and each day has a scripture reading, a short commentary (written by a Hillcrest volunteer!), and a couple of questions. We actually did in both morning services. It took 3 minutes in the first service and 4 minutes in the second! Now, who doesn't have 3-4 minutes to spend on their relationship with Jesus?!? But if we're starting from nothing, we'd be wise to heed these words from the Flinch and make sure we're willing to sacrifice- even if it's 3 or 4 minutes.