A few years ago, before my daughter learned to read, I read her the book “Alice in Wonderland”. In the book, Alice sort of wanders from encounter to encounter without a strong purpose. The plot is summed up well when she asks the Cheshire Cat which way she should go. The cat responds by asking where she is trying to go. Alice explains that she doesn’t care where she is going. This prompts the cat to explain that it doesn’t matter which way she goes, because it doesn’t matter where she ends up. He goes on to tell her that she’s bound to end up somewhere if she is willing to walk far enough. There is an interesting idea in this exchange. If we’re not trying to get anywhere in life, it doesn’t matter what we do next. Anything we use our time for or any choices we make are as good as any other for getting us to where we are going. The problem is that without a goal, we could end up anywhere. I have had friends who always did what felt good or fun with their finances and relationships: buying a new car, racking up debts on frivolous things, or flying off the handle with their spouse over nothing. These sorts of habits resulted in crushing debts and broken relationships. The decisions they made weren’t based on their destination in life, but rather on the fun they wanted to have right now. I did this for a while when I was a smoker and 70 pounds overweight. One cigarette or one donut weren’t likely to kill me. However, a dozen of both every day for years took me toward a destination I hadn’t intended to get to. If I had stayed on that path long enough, eventually I would have suffered significant health problems. They were little decisions I was making without a clear destination in mind, but with a very clear destination in my future. The solution to this is to live your life aimed at achieving things that matter to you. If your health and long life are important, your lifestyle will help make that happen. If financial security is important, then planning and decisions are required to make that happen. Healthy relationships are a product of investing time and effort into growing them. These things rarely happen accidentally. We must plan and aim our lives toward what we want to become or achieve. Another strategy for living a life that brings you to a place you would like to go is found in Psalm 25. The author asks God for help in learning to walk in His ways. Walking in God’s ways is more than going to church, though that helps us learn and find accountability. Learning to walk in God’s way is about growing accustomed to living according to the teachings of Jesus and God’s wisdom. Developing a lifestyle of right living will tend to bring us in the direction of becoming what we want to be.
