People are busier than they’ve ever been. Ask someone how they are doing and they will most likely respond by telling you about everything they’ve crammed into their calendar for that day. In our culture being busy is a virtue. But what if the pace at which we are living our lives is actually rendering us ineffective? What if the pace of our lives is detracting from our purpose? If we want to make our days count we have to stop filtering our lives through the parts and the crazy schedules, and begin filtering our days through our purpose.
1. The purpose of our life often gets replaced by the pace of our life. Have you ever felt like you have neglected the purpose of life, because you are trying to keep up with the parts? Or do you currently feel that way? Share about it. If it was a prior time, how were you able to refocus and prioritize purpose over pace?
2. Why do you think we allow pace to mask true purpose for our lives?
3. Psychologists have coined a new term - idleness aversion. Most people have an increased pace of life in order to avoid having time to be still and think on life. Has this ever been true of you? What were you doing to avoid thinking? What were you trying to avoid? How did that scenario play out?
4. Have you ever thought about the questions “what are you doing and why are you doing it that way?” when it comes to your life. What would your response be? In answering them, can you see something that you could do differently or more effectively?
5. What are some practical steps you can take to make sure you are living life with purpose? Do you have friends in your life that can speak into your life to see things you don't see?
Create a calendar for your week. List out all of the activities you have planned with family, friends, and for work. Don’t leave anything out. Now go through each activity and look at it through the filter of your purpose. Next to each item on your calendar write how you can use that item or event to love God, love people, and make disciples.
