What Are Your Life Hooks?

In our laundry room, we have a door on which there are several hooks. On these hooks, we hang things like coats and scarves; anything we might need to grab on our way out the door.

Maybe you have some hooks in your home. They may be on a door or on a wall. They may be in a bathroom or a utility room. But wherever they are, they’re a place to hang things that you don’t want to put away, because you’re going to need them.

In the same way, a life needs hooks on which to hang those things which are important and often used. When you you head out into the situations of life, you need to be able to reach out and have quick access to the things that will help you navigate those situations.

Lately, I’ve been trying to hang my life on these hooks:

• Efficiency. I want to be a good manager of all I’ve been given. My time, my talent, my health, my stuff, my relationships, etc.
• Effectiveness. I don’t want to just be active. I want my activity to be effective. I want my life to make a difference and have impact.
• Encouragement. There’s enough discouragement out there. I want my words and my presence to encourage and motivate people.
• Evangelism. By this, I don’t mean I want to twist arms and beat people up with the Bible. I just want to share the hope and meaning I’ve found as a follower of Christ.

At the beginning of the day, I remind myself of these hooks. As I go through my day, I try to use these hooks to make decisions. These hooks are the compass I use to check my direction throughout the day. Am I good at staying true to these hooks? Not as much as I would like. Still, I chose these hooks because they are areas of my life in which I need improvement.

What are your life hooks? They will probably be different than mine. They should be, because your hooks should be geared to your own heart’s desires.

If you don’t know what those hooks are, you’re liable to hang you life on the closest, easiest hook you can find…or you’ll just leave your life lying on the floor. If you don’t know, spend some time thinking about the life you want and writing words that describe that life on a piece of paper. When you’re done, circle the words that are most important to you. Out of those circled words, themes will start to emerge and you will find your life hooks.

One word of caution… don’t have too many hooks and don’t overcrowd the hooks with too many things. I have a bad habit of hanging too many coats and scarves on the hooks on our door. When I do, things get cluttered, things fall off, and I get in trouble. Just have three or four hooks on which to hang things. It will work better for you.

On another level…

There are many places in the Scripture where you’ll find good hooks on which to hang your life. One of my favorites is found in 1 Corinthians 13. Towards the end of that chapter, the Apostle Paul talks about getting older and still not having all the answers. But he confidently gives 3 hooks on which to hang life. Paul says, “Three things will last forever – faith, hope, and love – and the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor. 13:13 NLT) Now there’s 3 hooks on which to hang your life!

Think about it. Come up with 3 or 4 hooks on which you would like to hang your life and share them in the comment section. (I may want to steal some of them for myself.)

Copyright © 2014 Bret Legg