Live Better with Willie Jolley: A New Theology of Achievement
A New Theology of Achievement
By Willie Jolley
On Sunday, May 19th, 2013, I will conclude a Doctoral program at The California Graduate School of Theology. I'm honored to say I will receive my Doctoral Degree with an emphasis in The New Theology of Achievement.
It has been a challenging process of going back to school at this stage of my life, but it is something I have wanted to do for over thirty years, so I did it!
My dissertation topic, A New Theology of Achievement, will soon be converted into my next book. I believe that the ideas and concepts will not only impact those who have an interest in theology, but also those who are interested in living their lives to the fullest and maximizing their God given talents and abilities. Over the next few months, I will share excerpts from this new book.
And for those in Southern California, I invite you to join me for the graduation on Sunday May 19th at 6PM at The Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove CA. I am honored to not only be a graduate, but also have been invited to be the graduation speaker. Feel to join me for this celebration!
A New Theology of Achievement
A theology of achievement is about working hard, working smart and trusting God, and doing something magnificent with our lives while we are here on this earth. As I have been saying for years on my SiriusXM radio show, “God’s gift us is life! Our gift to God is what we do with our lives!”
Proverbs 13:22 says that “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.” My comment to that scripture is…in order to leave something, we must achieve something! And in order to achieve something, we must work hard, work smart and trust God; and we must take action and have initiative.
In order to take action and have initiative we must have faith as well as courage. In order to achieve great results in life and maximize the gifts God has given us, we must have faith… and courage. It takes courage to step out on faith. Peter had courage when he stepped out of the boat and started walking on the water. And it was only when he lost his courage and became afraid that he started to sink. You must have courage to maximize faith! And it starts with your viewpoint on faith.
Everyone has a philosophy on life, which means that everyone has a system of thoughts, perspectives and values that they live by. They can either they see life as a glass half empty or a glass half full. There is a song I heard a lot when I was growing up and would sing along with. The song is Que Sera Sera and it states:
Que Sera, Sera, Whatever will be, will be…
The future's not ours, to see, Que Sera, Sera.
I always thought it was a pretty song, yet never really listened to the lyrics, but I now realize that the philosophy of the song is totally opposite to my personal philosophy. It basically says that whatever will be, will be… the future’s not ours to see. The implication is that we have no impact on how our lives turn out. And so we have no control over our lives, so we might as well not be concerned about the future and not even try. Yet, I believe that a person without a vision for the future will perish, and a person with a vision for the vision will flourish. I also believe that the best way to predict the future is to create it!
It is about your philosophy and also your personal theology. Everyone has a philosophy of life. They see life as the glass is half empty or half full. Some people see life as a life long journey filled with constant hurt and pain, sadness and struggle, difficulty and disappointment, which culminates in death and they get to go to Heaven and get their rest. While others see life as a beautiful and wonderful journey that has some downs, but has many more ups, and after this journey we get to have an even better life with God in Heaven.
Each person also has a theology, a worldview of God or of faith and have learned something about God, either from our parents, our friends, our schools or our communities. Whatever we have learned is how we see and perceive God and how we live our lives, and how we see the world in general. I see theology as much more than a discipline that we study in seminary but rather it moves beyond what we learn but also how that learning orders our beliefs and actions. Theology, therefore, becomes our way to see the world and our philosophy and how our lives are ordered.
Everyone has a philosophy and also a theology of life and death. Some people have a philosophy that life is a dog (usually spoken of in the context of a female dog, who has just given birth to a litter of puppies), and then you die. Their philosophy and theology is that life is bad and then death is worse. But there is another philosophy that is quite different.
There is the philosophy and theology of the lady who would go out everyday dressed up, even if she was going to the grocery store, because she felt life was one big party and she was dressed for the celebration each and every day. Then she was diagnosed with a terminal illness and went about preparing for “the next chapter”, as she called it. When she died, she had prepaid the funeral and in her funeral instructions, she had written that she was to be buried with a fork in her hand.
When one of her children was asked why she wanted to have a fork in her hand, they shared her theological philosophy. They said, “Mama wanted the fork because at the church dinners after the delicious entrees and the wonderful food they had prepared for dinner the servers always told her to keep her fork after the dinner was served because the best was yet to come…the dessert! She believed that life was good but that the best was yet to come, which was Heaven!”
Finally as we go into the future with this theology of achievement we must remember that when all is said and done, it comes down to did we do what the Lord requires. And what does the Lord require? In Luke 10:25-27 Jesus is asked what it takes to inherit eternal life and the answer was, “To love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself!” In other words, to Love God and Give Him The Glory and to make a difference and serve others with an attitude of excellence. In Micah 6:8 the Bible says, “What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, to love mercy and walk humbly with your God!” I encourage you to move forward with the new theology of achievement and do what God requires, and remember…Your best is yet to come!
God Bless You!
WJ
