Vision: What are you aiming for?

Your vision dictates your plans which indicate what you do. Not just in business – but in everything.

Picture this:

You’re on your way to the office, a little rushed but not totally running late. Just enough time to grab some coffee from High Brow.

Then you get stuck in Franklin Rd traffic. The kind that moves so slowly you try and do a 16-point turn to get out of there.

One minute goes by, two… 10 minutes later and you’ve not moved.

Frustration has done more than set in – you’re in full anger mode now. Yelling at the car in front of you, writing an angry post on Facebook, and raging at anyone around you.

Pause.

What causes this?

Your vision was to get to the office as quick as possible. And everything (and everyone) who got in your way became your enemy.

Vision is in everything you do, whether you thought about it or not.

So, what if you had a proactive vision for your day, your family, your relationships?

In Proverbs 28:18, it says “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

Unless we’re reading that differently, vision is really important!

Contained in the meaning of the original Hebrew word for vision is this idea of mental sight.

So, what are your sights on? What are you aiming for?

Here’s a visual for it: Vision -> Intention -> Action.

Vision dictates your intentions which dictates your actions.

A different way of thinking about this is: everything you do (action) is rooted in vision, whether you’ve thought about it or not. And if you haven’t thought it, chances are it’s just bad vision.

Here’s what good vision looks like:

Vision: I want to know God

Intention: I intentionally posture myself as a student – research Bible reading plans, devotionals, etc.

Action: I learn more about God, I dig into the Word, and surround myself with wise people.

Bad vision looks like this:

Vision: I just want to survive Christmas

Intention: I think of all the things my family may do that will hurt or bother me

Action: I get mad at them every time they do anything that seems like an attack. (Because I’m in survival mode!)

It’s worth repeating (again) that vision is in everything you do – everything, all the time!

When you drove to church, you had a vision for your experience that morning. You have a vision for your family, for your friendships, for work, or for school.

If you’re a boss, you have vision for your employees. If you have a boss, you have a vision for your boss.

You get it.

Consider this— Jesus had disciples, ordinary men He invited on a journey. They followed Him. They were changed by Him and went on mission with Him. In doing so they became more like Him.

So, do a quick (or not so quick) inventory of your life. How are you living?

If people watched you live your life outside of a Sunday morning, would they say, You are so like Christ, you clearly belong to Him!

Are you living a life that’s aiming to be like Christ?

So, what are you aiming for?

Are you aiming to get to work as fast as possible no matter who gets in your way?

No condemnation here. But this is a great opportunity for you to pause and think about what you are aiming for in both your intentional relationships and your everyday interactions with people.

In closing, we’ll offer this simple vision: know and love the people around you.

Let’s go back to Franklin Rd traffic on a busy Monday morning. When you’re running late for that meeting that you just can’t be late for.

If your aim is to know and love the people around you, you might actually see people the way Jesus sees them. You may roll the window down and thank the construction worker for their hard work.

And if you do end up late for work, you can display what humility and kindness looks like in the midst of a stressful morning.