The Long Term Versus The Present

I am a future oriented person.

This serves me well in some areas. It means I save money, don't eat too much, do some exercise-the kind that won't wear me out in old age.
I think constantly about what I'm building and where I'm going.
This is my wiring.
Anything I do for the present is driven by an emotional impulse.
This is not good, but it's also normal.
I'm intentionally living my days in light of my future, but those days are punctuated by some unconscious behavior.
The reason I say it's not good is that the things I do on impulse are not usually the best and wisest things I could be doing.
It also means that the only time I'm present, I'm not that present.
Does this make sense to you? If you're like me you understand the paradox. When I'm planning, I'm conscious. When I'm not planning, I'm not paying attention…or intention.
I'll spend three hours mapping out next year's church or business strategy. Then I'll eat half a pizza because I'm "taking a break."
I'll calculate compound interest on my retirement savings. Then I'll buy something stupid on Amazon at 11 PM.
The present only gets my attention when my emotions override my plans.
This creates a weird split. My future self is wise, disciplined, strategic. My present self is a toddler with a credit card.
I'm either building tomorrow or sabotaging today. There's no middle ground.
The thing is, every future is built from present moments. If I'm only conscious when I'm planning, and only unconscious when I'm living, what am I actually building?
It's like being an architect who draws perfect blueprints but gets drunk every time he picks up a hammer.
The present isn't the enemy of the future. It's the only material we have to work with.
But I treat it like an interruption.
My solution to this problem is remembering that all life is is living.
These could be our best days. Right now. And we might miss all of it. I’m a Christian. I know our best days are after this life has passed. And yet, I sense that those days will be even better if we get good at living this days in Christ.
I've written about prospection and I stand by it. Yes, imagine the future. Yes, pull it into the present by removing from your life what doesn't belong to the future you. Cut out the behaviors, habits, and commitments that don't align with where you're going.
But then what?
Then the fun begins. The fun of actually living a moment.
I don't mean to sound woo woo. But we Christians are eternal beings. We're destined for an eternal existence. Think about that. Would you want to spend eternity planning? Eternity thinking about what's next?
At some point—and that point is now—we have to live.
Not unconsciously. Not by emotional impulse. But by decision.
The decision to enjoy this moment in the presence of God.
God who was, is, and is to come. He's not just the God of tomorrow. He's the God of right now. This breath. This second.
When I remember this, something shifts. The present becomes intentional without becoming heavy. I can be here, fully here, without abandoning wisdom or throwing hammers through windows.
I can eat a meal and taste it. I can have a conversation and hear it. I can take a walk and feel it.
Not because I'm taking a break from real life. But because this is real life.
The future will come. It always does. But it will come to someone who knows how to be here when it arrives.
Here’s something to think on:
James 4:13-15: "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'"
Psalm 118:24: "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Matthew 6:34: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Hebrews 13:8: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."
Revelation 1:8: "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."
Ephesians 5:15-16: "Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil."
Colossians 3:17: "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
Proverbs 16:9: "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps."
Luke 12:20-21: "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God."
Ecclesiastes 3:12-13: "I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God."