I’m not the budgeter in my family and I love it.
My wife gives me an allowance each week that I can do whatever I like with and then she takes care of all the bills and making sure things get paid on time. I then circle back around for tax season or big insurance stuff but she is the family’s Chief Monthly Financial Operations Officer. Part of what she does so well is setting money aside here & there for bigger things down the road. Things like vacations or Christmas have become easier to manage over the years because she does a good job of making decisions today with a long-term goal in mind.
The behavior curve has a quick escalation, particularly the more experience you have on it. One technique to help diffuse that escalation is remembering how you want to feel 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 12, 18, 24 months, 5 years from now on the topic of pornography & lust and make decisions on today’s curve possibilities from that perspective, not how you are feeling today.
You may say to yourself, “I know in 1 month, I’m going to be happy to be loosened by the grip of pornography & lust. So, I’m going to look back on this moment and be happy with the decision to abstain today”.
Make decisions with the end in mind.
Easy to say; not always easy to do, I know.
But that is ultimately what you’re aiming for.
Let’s go back to the financial illustration. My family took a trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama a couple years ago. We spent over a year planning & saving for that trip. We paid for the rental in pieces and then set aside a little money here & there for a long time.
Then when we got there, the rental had been paid for way back when, and we knew we had a generous amount of money to spend each day on gifts, souvenirs, eating out, and whatever else we wanted. And not only that, we weren’t spending any monthly money on our regular grocery or eating out expenses so by the end of our time, we had actually saved a little money.
In total, we spent a lot of money on that trip, which we couldn’t have done at one time. Nor could we have spent that kind of money daily. But we saved. And our family came away with great memories and great pictures of that week.
Now, as we plan for our next trip, it’s so much easier to save a little here & there . . . because I know what it’s like to have such financial freedom on a family getaway.
You see, the glimpse of freedom that I had, strengthens me to make good daily decisions because I know in the end, I’ll be happy with my decisions today.
Thoughts to Pray/Journal:
- What in your life is a good comparison to the “Gulf Shores” illustration? What can you draw upon for an example of making decisions today with the end in mind?
- Specifically, what do you want your relationship to look like with pornography & lust in 1, 3, or 6 months?
- In today’s reading, you see the second part of David’s story. Look closely at verses 13 & 16. What can you learn from this about running toward God as opposed to away from Him?
Reading: