A Yearly Audit

2008-2011 has been an unusually challenging economic period for many. In addition to the prolonged slump in many markets, there has been unprecedented political, social and spiritual upheaval across America. In spite of these issues, our God reigns! Let’s take this well-deserved pause from the action to take a deep breath and deeply consider, before God, how we’re doing in ordering our priorities and tending to His resources according to His plan and purpose.

You Had A Good Year If…

1.     You spent more time with The Lord. This is an easy one. Everything we are or do comes out of our relationship with God in Christ Jesus. We can never be more than our relationship with Him enables us to be. Obedience to God is the FINAL definition of success in our lives and our obedience comes out of our relationship with Him.

2.     Your family relationships are strengthened. Were you able to spend more time, and more quality time, with your spouse and children? We need to look at these relationships right after our relationship with God. It isn’t very likely that we had an improving relationship with God and a deteriorating relationship with our family.

3.     You spent more time listening and relating to your key team members on a one–to–one basis. Not only listening to and relating with them, but doing so with an ear tuned to God and His purposes. You had a good year if you care more for your lost employees, seeing the horrible prospect of their eternity in hell more painfully.

4.     You saw the people that you deal with – suppliers, customers, employees, and others – more as objects of your personal ministry than as objects to be exploited for your personal gain. If you see yourself more as servant to them than master over them, even a little bit more, you had a good year.

5.     You are even slightly less acquisitive than you were a year ago. The urge to acquire things is of the flesh, not the Spirit. The vain thought that having more will bring any real benefit to our lives is immature and foolish. Any honest Christian knows that there is no joy or peace in things. The more stuff we have, the more we must tend to and use.

6.     You are measurably more thankful for what you have and content with your present lot in life. Spiritual maturity brings with it a contentment that comes from the awareness of what God has done for us by grace. What do we have that we deserve?

7.     You have more peace in your heart than you did a year ago. This is especially true if the peace is not related to circumstances, since circumstances always change. If our peace is dependent on them, it comes and goes with the changes. Spiritual maturity, and the peace that comes with it, is not dependent on circumstances but on God who never changes.

8.     You learned more about your profession this year than last. If you believe that (a) your business is a gift from God and (b) as steward you are to run it for Him with excellence and (c) have found the time and will to learn and apply better ways to do so; you had a good year.

9.     You took better care of your body. Did you get the exercise you need? Was your diet better than last year? Are you giving the time to the maintenance of your body that you know you should? The way we care for our body is a measure of our self–discipline. Mastery of self is a key to spiritual growth.

10.   More eternal fruit has been produced through and around you, due to your effort and influence while abiding in Christ, compared to last year. Eternal fruit is defined as “lives turned toward God.” It means simply this: your obedience to God in what you say, do, and are, influences others to move towards God in their thoughts and actions, yielding eternal fruit.

Many of you are thinking, “How can I really measure these things?”  Begin to ask God to reveal to you the truth in each of these areas. He will show you as you pray and study His Word.  Sometimes He will answer through people who know you well, such as your spouse, close friends, or perhaps your peer C12 Group members.  

Our ratings will probably never be all we’d like them to be.  Our real goal is to grow - not legalistically drive toward a particular numerical score.  Our lives in Christ are designed to grow in fruit and grace, as one matures to be more like Christ.  We start where we are and go forward from there, pressing on in Christ.

What areas have surfaced as those you’d like to address by perhaps repenting, reordering priorities, and diligently pursuing SMART goals in the coming year?