Something About Aiming

I’m hoping you will accept the illustration even though it involves a few of J.K. Rowling’s bizarre-sounding ‘Harry Potter’ concepts. I think it’s worth it because it leads in interesting directions. We find Harry repeatedly distracted by a special mirror during his first adventure (The Philosopher’s Stone). This ‘mirror of Erised’ as it’s called (‘desire’ spelled backwards) shows you the greatest longing of your heart. So Harry, being an orphan, spends long hours gazing at the parents he never knew. His heart’s greatest desire was just to be with them.

All of this seems like a minor plot point until we get to the end of the story where the mirror is used to protect a powerful treasure and keep it from falling into the wrong hands. It’s a very simple but elegant solution. Whoever looks into the mirror and sees the treasure won’t be able to find it, but whoever looks into the mirror and sees something else, will. Think about it: you can only get your hands on the treasure when it isn’t your first priority. The only one’s who will be able to find it are those that did not come there looking for it..

I’m pulled to dig deeper and deeper into that idea because I think there’s a rich truth in it. There are some things which are best experienced as a side effect of aiming at something else. Some of the wealthiest people I know didn’t aim at money – they aimed at creating value, making a difference and serving the people around them. Money ‘happened’ as a side effect and their lives are not consumed by it. It’s just a by-line, a trinket, a detail.

Some of the most successful people I know didn’t just set out to be successful. They aimed instead at practicing integrity, making tough choices and working hard at what was right in front of them. A few of them are not even really conscious of their success. They’re just pursuing their values and success is happening as a side effect.

Even in my own career, I’m surprised at how much has come not from my own creativity or the strength of my ideas or any of the skills I practice, but as a side effect of actually, honestly just loving the people around me along the way. They have become the leaders that have transformed the ministries of which I was only a small part. I thought cleverness would win the day and I loved people as a kind of ‘hobby’ and a ‘passion’. But now as I look at my life mid-journey, I realize that my ‘hobby’ has actually overshadowed every other thing I’ve done in leadership. My hobby has generated Pacific-ocean-sized results. Cleverness has amounted to little more than a thimble full.

So… If you could look into a mirror like the one I described above, what would it show you? Are you wanting the treasure or something more important? What are you aiming at? The Jesus based life is a challenge to see beyond the obvious and find the things of enduring value. Jesus said that your heart will be with your treasure – wherever that is. What things do you treasure?

This Sunday I’ll be wrapping up my part in our two-month journey towards a deeper understanding of wisdom and maturity. I’d like to challenge you about the kinds of things you’re aiming at. If you can’t join us on Sunday, then I hope you’ll connect with us through the podcast.

Have a great weekend,
Chris

Image credits: Chutiporn Chaitachawong