As much as I hate to say it, you and I cannot have it all. My guess is that the maximum number of things we can simultaneous do is probably around four. For example, you can have a good career, be a good family guy, exercise regularly, and be a good community supporter if you spend most of your time on those four things. If you are really good, you might be able to fit in one more – maybe an 8 handicap, or extensive personal travel, or endurance sports, or lots of fishing & hunting.
But even if you are good enough to squeeze in five things, you may still feel inadequate because your friends’ social media posts show them collectively doing ALL of these things and lots more. You might ask “why can’t I do my four things AND take pictures skydiving in Dubai AND playing at Pebble Beach AND with a 180 pound tarpon?”.
In short, we all have FOMO (fear of missing out) and we are less satisfied with our boring four or five things than ever. And if we try to make it seven or eight things, it just makes everything worse. But, fear not, the Bible has the answer we need to combat our FOMO and help us regain a sense of peace.
Our verse for today is from Philippians 3:13:
Friends, don’t get me wrong: by no means do I count myself an expert in all of this but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward – to Jesus.
The author, Paul, was saying that even though he was throwing a lot at them at once, that they shouldn’t be anxious because not even he had it all mastered. In a way, they may have been dealing with some FOMO of their own by thinking that they needed to master everything he was sharing with them. But notice the real focus of Paul’s instruction which is to keep your eye on the goal of moving closer to Jesus. In a world with an ever-increasing number of distractions, that is good advice for us too!
Questions:
- How many things would you currently say that you’re giving significant attention to?
- Of the things in question #1, how many are you doing well?
- Do you sometimes have FOMO?
- How can keeping our eyes on Jesus help us when we face the anxiety caused by trying to have it all?
- Have you thought of anything today that you might want to do less of so that you can focus on your top three or four things? If so, please share if you feel comfortable.
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