30Thrive

Reason #1 for writing to 30 something’s about thriving - The Stakes Are Higher. Let’s expand:

Imagine yourself in college…If you were to throw all your convictions to the wind and live a weekend selfishly and without constraint, you would probably wake up Monday felling guilty and regretful. You may have a few apologies to make and forgiveness to ask but within a week all would be close to normal. Take that same weekend and imagine it now. The consequences are exponentially greater. Your husband would be livid and deeply concerned about your behavior. Your children would respond with confusion and insecurity. Anyone you had been a Christian witness to would lose all respect for you. And who knows what effect it might have on your career and standing in the community. The more responsibility you have, the harder the fall.

My above example is extreme. But what about less obvious temptations that wiggle their way into our hearts and thinking? We must recognize them to be just as dangerous as the wild weekend. We can’t flirt with immorality or dishonesty like we’re 20 anymore. If you do, you need to take a hard look at yourself in the mirror and declare your real age and all that is riding on your shoulders. My neighbor told me the other day that sometimes her husband doesn’t like to do work around the house on his days off. Her response was, “Honey, we’re grown-ups now! That’s what we do on our days off.” Just hearing her say that empowered me to view myself like a grown up and face the hard reality of having a lot depend on me.

This is a spiritual issue too, of course. In Biblical terms, “God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” To think you can act foolishly, and it not come back to bite you, is like mocking God. In His economy, you reap what you sow, more than you sow, and later than you sow. That goes for sowing foolishness but also sowing righteousness. It works for you both ways. Sin splatters but so does right living. You will influence those around you and now you have a lot more people around you than before. The stakes are higher. What are you splattering?

Practical Questions:

If your conscience is not clear, make it right. Before God and whomever else you’ve failed. Make it right so you can thrive! It’s not too late!