Exclusion is the process of adding to your life by subtraction.

Wait a minute… that doesn’t make mathematical sense.

Add to your life by subtracting?

Yep, bad math but great life practice. See if this rings a bell…

You wake up to your Saturday morning to do list. You have to grocery shop, do laundry, cut the grass, clean the house and so much more.

But first… you’re going to check your Facebook really fast (yeah right).

An hour later you look up and you’re still on your computer. You had to Twitter your Facebook and Facebook your Twitter.

Then you had to read a gazillion forwarded emails and cute stories. They touched you so much that you shed a tear and felt compelled to share them on Facebook because you didn’t want anybody to miss them. Another hour is gone.

Dealing With Suckers

Did you know that Twitter and Facebook are merging? They’re going to call it “Twit-face.” This is about what I feel like at the end of that long hour, a.k.a. time waster.

How does that happen? Little foxes spoil the vine. (Song of Solomon 2:15)

I did a talk called, “Dealing with Suckers.” It dealt with those things that suck energy, time and emotion out of our lives and how to identify them so we can eliminate them.

In order to go to the next level and get our 10,000 hours of focus on the talents we want to develop, we have to extract those things. We need to subtract certain things from our life so we can grow and multiply in the areas that God wants us to.

To win the contest you must deny yourselves many things that would keep you from doing your best. –1 Corinthians 9:25 (TLB)

People Too

Sometimes those things we are supposed to exclude, change, and deny are not just things but certain people.

The people we hang around are the people that we are going to be like.

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” –1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV)

If we are going to progress in life then we should assess time suckers, emotion suckers, drama mongers, trouble makers, and those who want to make their bad decisions your problem by asking ourselves if these are who we aspire to be.

God is calling you to go to the next level, but you can’t climb a ladder with somebody else on your back. Sometimes we’re afraid and think, “God, but they’re my friends. I’m not going to have anybody else.”

But God is whispering, “If you would just climb the ladder, I have new mentors, new friends, new people to speak into your life up here. Just be willing to follow My plan and I will give you new.”

God has a calling on your life. Follow it. Trust Him. Be willing to give up those things that are holding you back. You will be able to run so much faster without all that weight.

Your Turn

It’s your turn. Share with us about a time when letting go of something or someone was the right thing for the plan God had for your life. Was it difficult at first? Was it right?

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