As I watch the age disparity between my four children, a four year old up to a twenty five year old, their dreams, aspirations and wishes fascinate me. Now at fifty two, it makes me think of what used to be. The world says to follow your dreams, but I say at what cost?
WISHES
Before I go into the cost, let's differentiate between wishes and dreams. Most people use them interchangeably, however they are completely different. As a matter of fact, it is because most people can not distinguish between them is why so many of us never reach any of the dreams we have. Let us use the example of owning a "dream car". For the sake of argument I'll use a Lamborghini. Now this is not my dream car, it is just to make a point. Many young boys and many older "boys" still wish for things like this car. I use "boys" for both because a WISHER is just that. He (or she) never does anything to make this wish come true. Why(?) because it is just that, a wish. TV tells us to wish upon stars, teeth under our pillows, clicking your heels together three times, a fat man in a red suit pulled by reindeer, and the list goes on. The one thing that these wishes have in common with each other is that the wisher doesn't have to work or put serious effort for the wish to come true. Further, for the wish to come true it usually requires some one else to make it happen. Since "others" are responsible for the wish to become real, when it doesn't happen - others are to blame? Are you picking up what I'm writing down?
DREAMS
When you meet a person with an actual dream, their behavior is different. For the dream car DREAMER, he (or she) knows things about there dream. In this case the dreamer will know mechanical specifications, buy magazines or books, know the history and save money from each pay check to make this dream a realization. Think about this for a moment; I wish or dream of being able to play basketball like Michael Jordan. If I was to sit down with MJ and he tell me what it took for his skills to mature, I would guess that I wouldn't want to put forth the effort he did. Instead we would tell ourselves (to make us feel better) that MJ had a "natural gift" or that he was very "lucky". When we say such things about any ones accomplishments, we are insulting there sacrifice. I do believe in "gifts and talents", not luck. I know that "luck" favors the prepared. I believe MJ once said; The more I practice, the luckier I get.
The real difference between the WISHER and the DREAMER is EFFORT and SACRIFICE! There is a cost that comes with anything of value and some-one has to pay it. The issue is, who pays? Most of the time, not all, we tend not to appreciate a gift if we didn't pay for it. God's word tells us to count the cost (Luk 14:28). The scripture is referring to building something and checking that you have enough money to accomplish the project. The Principle, is first directed towards your decision to receive God's gift of eternal life through the Sacrifice and Resurrection of His Son Jesus the Messiah. Although this gift is free for those who ask (Rom 5:15-18), it came at a great cost. I said earlier that we tend not to appreciate what we didn't pay for and that is true. In this case, when we ALL realize our predicament (Rom 3:23) and find we are unable to pay the price for our freedom, which is death (Rom 6:23); then the VALUE of this gift of grace from God is understood.
I could go on but I do not like long Blogs, however I will end with this. Most of the time we miss-out on whatever, is because of our decision making. As sinful creatures, we naturally make poor decisions (I wanted to say a ton more here). Consider this; Some dreams, because of prior poor decisions and current timing, best become wishes, at least until the kids are grown?
Blessings
ernie
WISHES
Before I go into the cost, let's differentiate between wishes and dreams. Most people use them interchangeably, however they are completely different. As a matter of fact, it is because most people can not distinguish between them is why so many of us never reach any of the dreams we have. Let us use the example of owning a "dream car". For the sake of argument I'll use a Lamborghini. Now this is not my dream car, it is just to make a point. Many young boys and many older "boys" still wish for things like this car. I use "boys" for both because a WISHER is just that. He (or she) never does anything to make this wish come true. Why(?) because it is just that, a wish. TV tells us to wish upon stars, teeth under our pillows, clicking your heels together three times, a fat man in a red suit pulled by reindeer, and the list goes on. The one thing that these wishes have in common with each other is that the wisher doesn't have to work or put serious effort for the wish to come true. Further, for the wish to come true it usually requires some one else to make it happen. Since "others" are responsible for the wish to become real, when it doesn't happen - others are to blame? Are you picking up what I'm writing down?
When you meet a person with an actual dream, their behavior is different. For the dream car DREAMER, he (or she) knows things about there dream. In this case the dreamer will know mechanical specifications, buy magazines or books, know the history and save money from each pay check to make this dream a realization. Think about this for a moment; I wish or dream of being able to play basketball like Michael Jordan. If I was to sit down with MJ and he tell me what it took for his skills to mature, I would guess that I wouldn't want to put forth the effort he did. Instead we would tell ourselves (to make us feel better) that MJ had a "natural gift" or that he was very "lucky". When we say such things about any ones accomplishments, we are insulting there sacrifice. I do believe in "gifts and talents", not luck. I know that "luck" favors the prepared. I believe MJ once said; The more I practice, the luckier I get.
The real difference between the WISHER and the DREAMER is EFFORT and SACRIFICE! There is a cost that comes with anything of value and some-one has to pay it. The issue is, who pays? Most of the time, not all, we tend not to appreciate a gift if we didn't pay for it. God's word tells us to count the cost (Luk 14:28). The scripture is referring to building something and checking that you have enough money to accomplish the project. The Principle, is first directed towards your decision to receive God's gift of eternal life through the Sacrifice and Resurrection of His Son Jesus the Messiah. Although this gift is free for those who ask (Rom 5:15-18), it came at a great cost. I said earlier that we tend not to appreciate what we didn't pay for and that is true. In this case, when we ALL realize our predicament (Rom 3:23) and find we are unable to pay the price for our freedom, which is death (Rom 6:23); then the VALUE of this gift of grace from God is understood.
I could go on but I do not like long Blogs, however I will end with this. Most of the time we miss-out on whatever, is because of our decision making. As sinful creatures, we naturally make poor decisions (I wanted to say a ton more here). Consider this; Some dreams, because of prior poor decisions and current timing, best become wishes, at least until the kids are grown?
Blessings
ernie
