Impulse vs. Intention

You drive by a Starbucks and within seconds, you’re the ninth car in the drive-thru.

You’re browsing on-line, killing time, and within minutes, you’ve made a purchase.

You’re driving home at the end of the day and since 8:00 that morning, everything just seems like a blur. Last week? Blur. Last month? Blur.

Is your life lived day to day by impulse?

Is your life lived day to day by intention?

Impulse is reactive. Intention is proactive.

Impulse is immediate response. Intention is calculated response.

Your thoughts. Impulsive or intentional?

Your decisions. Impulsive or intentional?

Somewhere this weekend I read this idea … As go the hours of our days, so goes our life.

Okay, so how do you go from an impulsively driven life to an intentional one? Three thoughts…

1 — Slow down.

Busy, fast, crazy creates impulse. If you think you can’t, then who is controlling your throttle? You must not be.

2 — Think for yourself.

It is actually quite simple today to allow external forces to make decisions for us. What someone just asked, what someone just posted, what someone just delivered as an expectation of what you should do next. Use your own brain.

3 — Commit to Romans 12:1—a living sacrifice—as an actual lifestyle, not a Biblical recommendation.

The “living sacrifice” is always alive, yet always prepared to die, hence the name. Life can be controlled by the Holy Spirit. Yes, temptation and sin still happen, but forgiveness comes quick to crawl off the throne and get back on the altar … where the intentional life is lived.




1 comment

Frankie Rainey April 1, 2014

Way to go, Robert! Very timely words, again! Keep it up! Frankie




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