Getting on Target

Have you been getting on target to reach the important goals you set for your life?

What do you want out of life? How do you define success? What goals have you set for yourself? How are you getting on target to reach them?

• Wealth?
• Happiness?
• Power?
• Success?

Those are the targets many people shoot for, and there is nothing inherently evil in any of them. But, when they become the central focus of our life, our definition of success, they take on a whole new meaning.

Look at money. In and of itself it is neither good nor evil, but when we become obsessed with the desire to have more and more of it, it takes on a sinister note. “The love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). It promises much but delivers little of lasting value. Many a life has been ruined by greed.

The same could be said of happiness. Those who make their chief aim in life the quest for happiness are never happy for long. It was the Greek philosopher, Epicurus, who said: “To whom little is not enough nothing is enough. Give me a barley cake and a glass of water and I am ready to rival Zeus for happiness.” When someone asked him the secret to happiness and contentment, he responded: “Add not to a man’s possessions but take from his desires.” Happiness, in and of itself, is not a worthy goal.

Helen Keller wrote: “Many persons have a wrong idea about what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.” With that in mind, listen to the Apostle Paul: “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14 NASB).

Heaven was his goal. It should be ours! Have you started in the right direction? Have you been getting on target for the goal of heaven? Can we help?

Salvation:  Hear - Believe - Repent - Confess - Be Baptized - Live Faithfully