In Luke Chapter 12 Jesus is found with a huge crowd of people gathered around him. Jesus took advantage of this by providing good instruction for His disciples on issues such as integrity, anxiety, convictions, problem solving, greed, jealousy, priorities and trusting God. He talked about these type of topics because Jesus knew that the people in the crowd needed to understand how to deal with these topics in order to live successful lives. Here is a summary of the things Jesus shared that can help us live life successfully:
- Decisions – The degree of success we experience in life is based on the quality of our decisions. Jesus talked about knowing the truth and being able to recognize lies that can lead us to making bad decisions. We not only need to know the truth, but we need to accept it and apply it to our lives. The only way to do that is by growing in our relationship with Christ. We do that through reading the Bible, listening to Bible based messages and reading books based on Biblical principles. We also need to seek wise counsel from people that understand the Bible.
- Servant Mindset – This is a heart issue and a humility issue. When we have a desire to serve the people around us our level of happiness and success go up. If we slip into our selfishness it tends to bring on negative emotions and a downward spiral. Jesus calls us to find a need and fill it.
- Determination – Our lives are filled with challenges, difficulties and hardships. Jesus tells us face the challenges that come our way, knowing that God is with us and for us. When we understand our purpose and meaning in life it helps us to be more determined and focused when challenges come our way. Being determined doesn’t mean we never give up, sometimes we need to know when to quit something, it means we do what we can to accomplish the task at hand or resolve the situation we find ourselves in.
- Sacrifice – Jesus was a great example of sacrifice. He was so passionate about what He was called to do that He was willing to sacrifice His life for it. When we are willing to sacrifice for something it usually means delaying gratification until something is accomplished. Understanding that we must give some things up in order to go up or to be successful. Are we willing to sacrifice living beyond our means in order to save and give more, or do we spend whatever we get?
- Preparation – Jesus talks about being a faithful servant. Part of being a faithful servant is to be prepared by developing a plan of action. We must also be willing to be flexible if things change. We prepare by continually working on ourselves to develop our character, our faith and our leadership. Usually the things that we are going through right now are preparing us for what is to come.
- Action – If we know the truth but never act on it, the truth is of no value. Once we know God’s will for our lives we need to obey what He calls us to do even when we don’t fully understand it. Our success in life goes up when we take action and put into practice what we have learned. If we only focus on learning, we tend to become proud and judgmental. When we take action and do the things that God teaches in the Bible we tend to become more humble and graceful.
- Talent – Jesus encourages us to discover our talents and share those with others. When we are working in our area of strength, everyone benefits. When we try to do things we are no good at it usually leads to frustration and negative emotions. God created each one of us uniquely and gave us talents and abilities. When we tap into those talents we tend to be more successful.
- Persistence – We need to be tenacious and finish well. When we understand who we are and what our true identity is it helps us to hang in there through the hardships of life. Jesus was very persistent and durable. He focused on the mission that he came for and did not get distracted on things that did not contribute to the ultimate goal of seeking and saving the lost.