If you’re trading in the ultimate for the immediate, then you will never reach the highest potential you were created for. The choice between the ultimate and immediate is always a challenge for both leaders and followers. It will make you or break you as a leader. It will either move the follower toward leadership or hinder you from becoming a leader.
A wise leader, King Solomon, said it in two different ways: “Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city.” (Proverbs 16:32) “Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.” (Proverbs 25:28) Your choice of the immediate will cause you to take steps that will allow your desires to trick you into doing something destructive or, at least unproductive.
What would change in our world if, instead of trading the ultimate for the immediate, people learned to trade the immediate for the ultimate?
What could change in your life if you learned to give up something you love now for something you would love even more later? Would you become debt free? Would it improve your marriage? Would it change your relationship with your children or grandchildren? Would it possibly affect your long term career success?
At my stage and age of life, some of my greatest joys and my sense of satisfaction now is from previously making the difficult choices of going for the ultimate rather than the immediate. And the very few regrets I have can all be traced back to the easy choices I made to grab the immediate rather than wait for the ultimate.
Here’s what I’ve learned. When you know who you are, you’ll sacrifice what you want, in order to become the person God wants you to be. And, you’ll choose the ultimate over the immediate.
QUESTION: Describe a time when you sacrificed the ultimate for the immediate. What did you learn from your experience? Share in the comment section below
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