The Risk of a Mission Statement
Sharon W. Betters
TODAY’S TREASURE
In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead (2 Corinthians 1:9, NLT).
Someone has said: I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacation with better care than they do their lives. Perhaps that is because escape is easier than change.
That’s the risk of a mission statement, isn’t it? Write it down, commit to it, knowing that to fulfill it will require change. Sometimes the change required means letting go of previous, successful use of our gifts and abilities. Paul’s mission statement included the possibility that fulfilling it could lead to death.
Chuck and I have learned and continue to learn, that seeking first God’s kingdom and His righteousness requires dying to self. A mission statement shines in value when life falls apart and we don’t know what to do. We may not like what our mission statement requires of us. How many times I’ve wanted to react with my flesh and I have. The result is that the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness took a back seat to my emotions. When faced with a broken relationship, my mission statement requires me to change any direction fueled by ungodly anger or blame-shifting. Pity parties don’t belong in the same sentence as seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.
LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT
A mission statement can help transform us from life-takers to life-givers. Do you have a mission statement that you go to when well-laid plans don’t come to pass or you watch your dreams shatter? What drives your everyday life? Where do you turn when you don’t know what to do? Pushing your tasks through the grid of your mission statement gives purpose to otherwise mundane days. Intentionally living daily life through your mission statement strengthens spiritual muscles, so that it becomes an auto-response to crisis. Pushing a shattered heart through the grid of your mission statement can breathe new life into a body struggling to breathe. If you have a mission statement, review it and determine if you need to update it with a renewed desire to be a life-giver rather than a life-taker. If you don’t have a mission statement, continue to prayerfully consider how your identity as a child of God shapes your purpose and how you will fulfill that purpose. Write out your thoughts in your journal.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sharon W. Betters is a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, pastor’s wife, and cofounder of MARKINC Ministries, where she is the Director of Resource Development. Sharon is the author of several books, including Treasures of Encouragement, Treasures in Darkness, and co-author with Susan Hunt of Aging with Grace. She is the co-host of the Help & Hope podcast and writes Daily Treasure, an online devotional.
For more from Daily Treasure please visit MARKINC.ORG.
Originally published Tuesday, 11 January 2022.
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