Shortcuts are Always Short-sighted

by Rick Warren

Noah did everything just as God commanded him. Genesis 6:22 (NIV) "A shortcut says, 'God, I think I can reach this goal a whole lot quicker my way than your way.' " One of the pitfalls you will face as you chase your dreams during this Decade of Destiny is the temptation to take shortcuts. These are the detours that come in life that tempt you to try to cut corners as you run toward your goals but these shortcuts will only get you off track. These may be moral shortcuts, ethical shortcuts, spiritual shortcuts, financial shortcuts, even relational shortcuts, where you start skimming in your relationships. Shortcuts are always short-sighted. They distract you from getting where you need to go and from what God wants you to do in your life. When we look at the life of Noah, we see he doesn't try to cut corners. Noah did everything just as God commanded him. The temptation to take shortcuts is present throughout scripture - Jesus was tempted by the devil to take a shortcut. The devil told Jesus to jump from the top of the temple and, when the angels caught him, it would prove to everyone he was the Son of God. And they would all worship him. But Jesus followed God's plan. Jesus was meant to die on the cross, not jump off a temple. God's plan was that Jesus would be glorified through suffering, not through showing off. When you see a shortcut, it's usually a temptation to cut the corner financially, ethically or morally - just take a little shortcut. But you are also saying, 'God, I think I can reach my goal a whole lot quicker my way than your way.' Sarah had a promise from God that she would have a baby, but by the time she was 80-years-old, she decided to take a shortcut. She told Abraham to get her handmaid pregnant. 'That will be our baby'. But that wasn't God's plan at all. He provided Sarah with her own baby, and Sarah's shortcut led to problems that have lasted for generations. Shortcuts are always short-sited. Noah could have said, 'Lord, do we really need all of these animals? You know, why don't we just leave half the species here. The Sierra club will never know; Green Peace isn't around. We can just call the ones we leave extinct animals.' But the Bible says, Noah did everything just as God commanded him. To reach the dreams God gives you, you must do things exactly as God tells you to do them.

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