The Risk of a Mission Statement

by Sharon 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, 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 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 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 it becomes an auto-response to a 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.


Sharon W. Betters is author of Treasures of Encouragement, Treasures in Darkness and co-author of Treasures of Faith. She is Director of Resource Development and co-founder of MARKINC.org, a non profit organization that offers help and hope to hurting people. Sharon enjoys quality time with her husband, children and fourteen grandchildren.

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Contact Sharon with comments or questions at dailytreasure@markinc.org.