The most important understanding to gain

What is the most important knowledge you could ever have?

If you’re like me, you have certain jobs, skills, talents you like to hone and improve. I love to play piano and tennis, and go up to the mountains with my family. I love my work, which includes praying, helping and healing others spiritually. There are a lot of activities I enjoy doing, and can think of many more I’d like to do if I had the time. I can’t squeeze them all in!

But what is the one most important activity of all? I have to remind myself when sorting out priorities.

And I believe it's to gain an increased understanding of God.

It's tempting to be occupied with anything and everything but gaining a better understanding of God. Whether it’s taking care of a family, managing financial accounts, keeping a building clean, writing, speaking, or organizing other people and activities, the list of things to do can grow very long.

But without God, we're all washed up, one might argue.

God is the source of all good, wisdom, intelligence, understanding, love and everything else essential to living a healthy happy and progressive life to begin with.

Forgetting to grow spiritually is like a carpenter going to work without a hammer. It's not going to be helpful!

If we shove God to the side and neglect nurturing our spirituality, we’ll eventually suffer and have to play catch-up. It’s better to stay ahead of mortal mind by increasing our knowledge of God so as to constantly strengthen our moral and spiritual position to ward off the attacks of fear and doubt when they come. The stronger we are spiritually, the less mortal mind can affect us.

So, don’t neglect the most important activity of all in your life—getting to know God better! Be sure to set enough time aside to for study and prayer, and enough devotion of mind to increase your living of what you learn.

When you know God, you know the best life has to offer, for the good you seek, ultimately, and always, comes from God.

“Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.” Matthew

What matters most

Life is so much easier when we remember that the most important gain is always spiritual.


How often have you agonized, feared, fretted, and even got sick over worrying about finances, human relationships, position, status, politics or the economy because you thought these were the most important issues in your life?


Have you ever spent a night ruminating over unkind comments made by another, held a grudge for an extended period of time, plotted revenge, harbored resentment, boiled in anger, tried to re-organize someone else’s life, felt poor, lonely or left out, was jealous about another’s promotion, feared for your country’s, church’s or family’s future because you felt that is what you had an obligation to do?


How many minutes and hours are spent each day obsessing about worldly concerns? Hopefully none, but if some, then it’s a ripe opportunity to revise your priorities and set more enlightened goals that produce peace and harmony rather than fear and anxiety.

We live in a spiritual universe that is governed and supported by an intelligent, all-wise divine Mind. When we listen to this Mind, we receive wise instruction, guidance and love that supplies solutions to problems we face, and resolves difficulties that seem humanly impossible to deal with. The one outcome that matters most is not how much money we make, whether we’re married or not, whether we get our way, what politician holds office, or whether another person changes, but how spiritually we live. Spiritual growth is the one activity that matters most in the long run.


People often get anxious about worldly concerns because they think it really matters most. For instance, believing that it’s really important that they persuade a co-worker or spouse to think their way, or it’s crucial that they earn more money, or that they get married, or find a new job immediately, or…and the list is endless. These things are important in many cases, but not THE most important thing. The most important thing is what we gain spiritually from the experience. For what we gain spiritually puts us in a better place ever after.


Like I’ve learned in marriage, if my wife and I disagree on a direction or plan for our family, I’ve learned that it’s not most important to convince her of my way, or even to just give in to her way. The most important outcome is a growing love and appreciation for each other’s point of view and an increased willingness to listen and love each other more. The human course of direction is trivial compared to the love felt and expressed along the way. What we gain together spiritually is most important. What we, or I, lose materially is insignificant.


In everyday life, the most important issues are not about the money, the economy, the boss, the curfew, the chores, the grades, the paycheck, the expenses, or who did what when. It’s about the love. It’s about getting to know God better and expressing more love in every thought, word and action. What we gain spiritually stays with us and blesses us forever. When we remember this truth life goes so much easier, and conflict resolves so much quicker.


Seek love first. It’s what matters most.

What are you looking at?

As you ramble on thru life, brother,

Whatever be your goal,

Keep your eye upon the doughnut,

And not upon the hole!

~ Optimists' Creed

 

What's your Main Thing?

The main thing in life is to keep the main thing the main thing!

Be your best

I’m captain of a USTA men’s team (as in tennis…), and we have our first tournament on April 27th. The excitement is building!

Last night, our coach shared bits of wisdom to mentally prepare us for the matches. And one point he made was very helpful to me.

He taught:

You have no control over whether you win or lose. You have no control over the other players. But you do have control over your own playing. And that is the one area of concern where you need to focus all of your attention.

He wanted us to quit thinking about winning, and concentrate on playing our very best.

He pointed out that if you play your very best you are doing all you can do to win the match. And if your opponent wins, then he’s a better player than you are, and he deserves to win. But if you focus on winning, rather than playing your finest, your thinking is distracted, and you err when you would not ordinarily err.

Wise words! I decided. And not just for tennis, but for all of life’s activities.

In marriage, in relationships, at the office, in the business world, on the playing field, if our motive was to be the best representative of God we could be, rather than to beat out the competition, wouldn’t there be less envy, jealousy, elbowing, strife and heartbreak? The best in human character would surface rather than perhaps the worse, and we'd perform better all the way around.

When we play to be the very best we can be, rather than to win, our thinking stays focused on doing well, on the building of character, virtue, and godliness--qualities which improve the effectiveness of our work and increase our success. The long run effect of this approach is always healthy and progressive, and we’ll end up a winner in the activity of Life whether we bring home a trophy or not.

"I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Paul

The most important pursuit

What is the most important goal in your life?

Is it the pursuit of fame, riches, position, title, companionship, family, or spiritual knowledge? There is nothing wrong with having any of these accomplishments, but the most desirable achievement of all is love. For without love one can have headline fame, billions of dollars, the CEO position, a faithful partner, kin galore and reams of spiritual knowledge, but still feel empty and lacking.

Love is Life.

Love is content. Love is comfort. Love is power. Love is might. Love is fearless. Love is confident. Love is happy. Love is ever-faithful, ever-present and always satisfied. Love does not fail, does not waver, does not wane or disappear. Love is a constant. It defines our value and worth. Love is the sum total of supreme goodness, and it belongs to us all.

Without love, wealth is emptiness. Without love, popularity is a fraud. Without love, status is lonely. Without love, family and marriage ring hollow. Without love, there is no companionship. Without love, truth is a flat-footed intellectual exercise. Without love, there is no life.

Love is the most important thing.

God is Love. When you have God, you have Love, and you have all worth having.

Riches are spent, titles are relinquished, fame fades, people come and go, truth is argued and debated, but Love lasts through it all.

Love is what makes life worth living. Love is the living. Love is the Life.

Live Love. It’s the one thing most worth pursuing.

“God is love.” John

Goals worth pursuing

I had a very enjoyable time this weekend getting obliterated in a doubles tennis tournament by some opponents far superior in tennis talent than to me and my partner.

Let me explain…

It was the Deep Freeze Doubles Tournament in Tri-Cites, WA this weekend. I wanted to enter a level higher than my rating to gain experience playing against tougher players. I found a willing partner at my same rating. As it turned out, the first match we played was against the team who went on to win the division. They were phenomenally good—compared to us!

We never considered winning, only learning.

During the match, which was not really a match for the other team, I was quite a happy bouncy fellow on the court rejoicing in the truth that I was not feeling defeated even the score was 1-6, 1-6, as it turned out. My goal was not to beat the other team, but to be fearless in the face of tough competition.

I had a spiritual goal of developing more poise and control on the court under pressure. And during the match, I saw clearly that no score, or lack thereof, could prevent me from reaching my goal.

And why? Because my goal was spiritual.

As is typical for me, my mind went off in a number of directions during the match about what I was discovering on the subject of goals.

If a goal is material, one may or may not reach it. A material goal sets one up for potential defeat and discouragement.

A spiritual goal, however, is always reachable, and no material condition can prevent us from reaching it.

I was striving to express more courage, confidence, dominion, and foresight in my game. Were there any obstacles to reaching this goal exterior to my own commitment and desire? No. None. There were no hurdles in the way, and thus the reason I was not feeling in the least bit defeated.

Wow! Think about it. A plan for reaching every single goal you set.

How? By setting spiritual goals, not material ones.

Many people spend decades pursuing a material goal they never reach. The cure for feeling like a failure is to not set yourself up to feel like a failure in the first place.

Set spiritual goals. They are the only aims worth achieving in the long run. Worldly success is temporal, fleeting, and shallow compared to the riches and wealth of Spirit.

It’s amazing what one can learn in a simple tennis game.

Even though many opponents have outscored me in tennis matches over the last three years, I’ve never felt like a loser. And I’m seeing more clearly why. It’s because my goal in playing tennis is fundamentally spiritual—to learn more about God and my relationship to Him. This is a goal that sets me up to always feel like a winner…because I know it is doable.

You can set goals that guarantee you to be a winner everytime too.

Quicker way to healing

“Don’t focus on outcomes. Focus on what you’re doing,” a tennis coach instructed her students.

Many of her budding tennis players were concerned about getting the point rather than implementing their shots well. In a hurry to score, they’d miss the ball, hit it into the net, or fumble altogether.

“If you don’t hit the ball well, you won’t make the point,” the coach reminded the kids.

We can learn from this lesson.

In spiritual healing, the human mind often focuses on material outcomes rather than the spiritual steps needed to arrive at a desirable result.

Successful prayer requires spiritualization of thought to remove the fear, error, or ignorance that causes external suffering. If thought is centered on physical conditions, it’s not focused on inward transformation. Then, in frustration over delay in recovery, the patient complains, “Why am I not healed?”

In tennis, a player has to earn his points. Shots need to be executed well to score.

In spiritual healing, we earn our recovery by letting God take over our thinking. Once sufficient spiritual renewal has occurred, we make the point—we score. We reach the desired goal.

Don’t focus on physical outcomes in prayer. Focus on spiritualizing thought. It’s the quickest way to victory!

The most important things

I talked to an audience of adults about valuing the most important things in life.

I asked the question, “When you turn 95 and look back over previous decades, what accomplishments will be most important to you? The money you earned, the house you bought, the title you gained, or the friends you made, the family you prospered, and the love you shared?”

After the gathering, a stately and elderly gentlemen with all the trappings of worldly success and executive status cornered me at my car in the parking lot. He was crying. He told me, “You don’t know how lucky you are to have the most important things in life figured out at an early age.” He said no more, but reading between the lines, I felt he had learned the hard way over his career to put love for others above love for his work.

We all need priority checks on occasion. We need to ask ourselves, "What is most important to me, and what should be most important to me?" Is it to earn that higher wage, get that promotion, and beat out my competitor? Or is it to help my friends, support my children, comfort my spouse, grow spiritually with God, and love more?

The things of the world come and go, but the love of God we live and share stay with us forever.

What’s your choice?

Life is not a dream

From a young age I’ve heard preachers and motivational speakers promise, “If you can dream it you can have it!”

How many people have pursued their dream and achieved their goal, but still felt like they didn’t “have it?” They wanted more?

I think of a man who believed he would be happy when he earned a large sum of money. He earned the income, but discovered he wanted more. He was not happy with what he had.

I think of a woman who found her “dream” husband. She got married. The hope of happiness-ever-after didn’t come true. She found a successful marriage takes work.

What’s the lesson?

If you’re going to dream, put your faith in something that will come true. Put your faith in spiritual reality, not in vain human scenarios that fail to deliver.

God is the source of all the good you could ever hope to have.

You don’t have to wait for a promotion, a spouse, a house, a divorce, a pill, or some temporal situation to materialize before you can experience happiness, health and joy to the fullest. It’s all here and now, in Mind.

Life is not a dream to be lived in the future. Its spiritual reality experienced in the present. Go for it!