If you know me, or you have read this blog a few times before, you know I am a PC gamer to the core. One of my favorite type of games are role playing games. I love taking on the role of a power warrior or disgruntled marine and lending my services to the poor mistreated citizens of a dangerous land. But just like those exciting adventures, my life consists of several side quests which ultimately only serve to aid me or distract me from my primary quest.
In the Bible, James writes to his fellow brothers of the faith; “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.” (James 1:5-8)
James was explaining that if I want, I only need to ask. BUT, if I have more than one primary motive, I will not receive. It’s like my games. If I need to accomplish a main quest, I am often restricted in what I can do because I have an unfinished SIDE quest which demands my attention. In the game it will be explained something like a main character telling me, “I’m sorry Big Daddy Goose. You cannot join us in storming the castle because the bandit camp is not yet cleared. Come back when you have finished.
In life, we all have side quests. Fixing the car, paying the bills, buying new shoes, rearranging parliament… well, maybe not that last one. But how many of us TRULY know what our primary quest is? How would you know your primary quest from your more important side quests? I tend to think in game terms. If failure of a quest would end the game, THAT’S a primary quest.
Applying that to life, which of my projects/tasks would bring my world crashing to an end if I failed it? For me, there is only one quest I know of that would qualify as a primary quest line: Growing my faith!
Yes, everyone’s is different, but there a few reasons why I consider this primary and it’s not just because it’s what I’m ’supposed’ to say. First, I have many reasons to believe that God is capable, and willing at times, to alter my life in drastic ways. Sometimes for good, sometimes for bad, but always for my long term benefit. Second, knowing that God can change my life, I must then realize that God has, through scripture and life lessons, made me aware of certain behaviors He wants me to adopt or deny. Third, since the primary quest line of any game is typically the longest and most difficult, I can reasonably assume that one of the hardest things to change in my life must be some sort of personal challenge God wants me to overcome.
I was recently watching the first season of Lost. There was a scene where a man was trying to quit his drug addiction and found himself trying to find ways to satisfy his cravings. Another character explained about the life cycle of a moth; “When a moth is in a cocoon, it is still frail and weak. If I were to open the cocoon and let it out, it would be too weak to survive. However, if the moth fights his way out over the course of the next few days, he emerges strong and powerful. A survivor.”
It’s true that suffering which test faith only strengthens character. For me, my health, my struggles, my temptations… all of these are things which conspire to weaken my faith and lure me into darkness. My health makes me depressed, my struggles make me angry, and my temptations make me weak. It is BECAUSE these things are so difficult to fight that makes me convinced my primary quest is to fight them.
So I ask again; “What’s your primary quest? How can you tell it from your side quests?”
