Don't Settle for Less

You may have heard someone use the phrase "don't settle for less" when talking about something that has great quality. But did you know the same phrase can be used in our daily lives? Turns out we need to remind ourselves of this quite often, and doing so helps us focus on what really matters.

Let's take a look at what this term implies. If we heard someone talking about a car and they said, "Don't settle for less!" what they mean is that any other car you can get isn't as good as the one they're talking about. Other cars are less, their's is more. So, basically, they're saying, "This car has options X, Y, & Z. Don't say OK to a car without these options!" They want you to be discontent with what you have or could get, and only be content with the best they have to offer.

Wait, so am I saying to not be content? No. God has called us to be content with the things we have in this life, because He supplies all that we need. Plus, any physical thing we can acquire here on earth doesn't even begin to compare to what we have in Christ: salvation from sin, righteousness before God, and eternal life in a perfect world. We need to be content with what God has given to us. And that's the point: be content only with what God has given you. When it comes to what God has to offer... don't settle for less!

The world, Satan, sin... they have stuff to offer us. And we can take it if we want. But it's nothing compared to what God has for us. The pain and guilt of sin can be forgotten when you're drunk, but it comes back when you sober up. The monotony of life can be surpassed by the exhilaration caused by taking drugs, but that feeling is only temporary. Feelings of loneliness & worthlessness can be forgotten through adultery and pornography, but your memory catches up to you. Eventually the pain, guilt, monotony, loneliness, and worthlessness comes back, and you're left worse off then you were before.

That's where what God has to offer is different. The pain and guilt of sin is dealt with; the monotony of life is removed; the loneliness and worthlessness you feel is replaced with the constant presence of God and His acceptance. It's not instant, like what others may promise, but what God has to offer doesn't fall short in its effect: it will do what God says it will do.

Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill church in Seattle, WA, has been teaching on the 10 Commandments recently, and a clip from his sermon on commandment 7 (do not commit adultery) brought this topic of settling to my mind (You can watch said clip here). Towards the end of the clip, Mark talked about how, so often, men are willing to settle for porn or adultery, when they could have purity in their walk with God and in their marriage. Rather than settle only for what God has, they settled for something less.

I may have no idea who I'm going to marry in the future, but I know God has someone out there for me. I know that a pure walk with God is better than a tainted walk with God plus some fleeting pleasure. I won't settle for anything less than what God has for me.

What you are offered may be different than what I'm offered, but it still doesn't compare to what God has to offer you. Choose ahead of time to not settle for anything less than what God has for you. When you're tempted, tell yourself, "Don't settle for less!" remembering that what God has for you is better. Keep your focus on what really matters: God.

Godspeed,

Jason