By Scot Thigpen
Monitor Your Dashboard
How’s your car doing? It’s important to know so you can make sure that you get where you want to go. Fortunately, your dashboard serves as a tool to help assess the condition of your car. What is even more important is to assess the condition of your life.
How are you doing? Perhaps that same dashboard can serve as a daily reminder to help evaluate your life. As we enter a new and fresh year, it is an excellent time to check those gauges
The E—F gauge needs evaluating. Are you closer to empty or closer to full? If you are running on empty, it is time to replenish your life tank with the fuel of life. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly.” He wants you to be filled up to the brim with his life. I would suspect that every life that feels empty can easily feel full if Jesus is allowed to fill that tank with himself.
The L—H gauge indicates low to high. So many examples can apply here. The important thing is to take time to assess them. Maybe your time in the Word of God is low and you want it to be higher. Maybe the nurturing of a relationship is low and you see the need to make changes to strengthen it. Perhaps you assess your prayer time as low and you get intentional about making it higher. How much do you love God and love others? Use this one as a love gauge. You get the idea.
The C—H indicator shows if you are cold or hot. I have heard it said you are either getting closer or further away from God. You are never stagnant in your walk with the Lord. You are either moving toward cold or hot. In the book of Revelation, there is an astonishing letter written to the church at Laodicea that indicts them of being lukewarm. It is a good idea to check that gauge often. If your gauge is showing cold, what better time than now to begin making a change.
Speedometer. Mine goes from 0 to 120 in increments of 10. I looked at it and it reminded me of a lifetime in decades. It is staggering how fast it has gone from 0 to 10 to 20 to 30 to 40 to 50. Maybe it would be a good idea to monitor your speed of life. Men can put to the pedal to the metal and go so fast and hard that we get dangerously close to being out of control. Monitor your speed to make sure you take time to slow down and smell the roses. 50 then 60 then 70 and 80 gets here faster than you imagine. Don’t go so fast that you miss the most important things in life.
Genesis points to the truth that we are made in God’s image. We are to be image bearers. As Christians, we are indwelled with the promised Spirit of God. One of the marvelous works of the Spirit is to illuminate the gauges.
As you drive around, use the dashboard in your car as a daily reminder to assess your life so that you can make sure you journey to your ultimate destination is all it is intended to be. Happy New Year.
Scot Thigpen is president of The Thigpen Group, a Wealth Advisory Firm in Jackson, MS. He is married to the former Kimberly Inkster and they are parents of two sons and attend Christ United Methodist Church. Contact Scot at Scot@thethigpengroup.com.
