Out There Doesn’t Matter So Much // Your Road to a Stunning Life, Part 2

<p>So many people who believe in Jesus find their lives are falling well short of what they expected. And all too often that’s because they’re so immersed in their culture that they believe more of what the world has to say, than what God has to say. It’s easy to do.</p> <h4><span style="color: #ff9900;"><strong>DON’T LET CIRCUMSTANCES CONTROL YOU</strong></span></h4> <p>This is a tough one for me today because it doesn’t matter who we are: Our circumstances influence us to a greater or lesser degree. When you lose a loved one, of course, you’re going to mourn that loss; that’s natural. Of course, when you get a promotion or a pay-rise at work, you’re going to feel like celebrating. When someone treats you badly, you’ll be hurt. When someone treats you well, you’ll be delighted. None of us is divorced from the day-to-day realities of our lives, and sometimes our circumstances are for us; other times they’re against us. That’s just the way it goes.</p> <p>Rudyard Kipling was a well-known writer and one of his most famous poems is called <em>If</em>. We don’t have time to read the whole poem, but it’s all about doing the right thing, irrespective of your circumstances. In fact, two lines of that poem are inscribed above the players’ entrance to the centre court at Wimbledon. Those two lines are these: <em>If you can meet triumph and disaster And treat those two imposters just the same</em>. Interesting isn’t it? Kipling calls both triumph and disaster what they are: Imposters. Now, Kipling wasn’t a Christian, but he was the son of two Methodist ministers, and no doubt his parents’ beliefs had a lot to do with the shaping of his philosophy and life.</p> <p>Think about it. When you have a triumph, you win a race or you get a promotion or you succeed in some way, how long does that last? In Australia where I live, no sooner does a Prime Minister win an election than the press and the electorate are chasing after him or her with a pickaxe. It’s so easy to be seduced by success that pretty soon, you start believing your