Harvesting Wisdom and Skill
Hello Friends!
As we look forward to October and the carefree days of summer are just a memory, it may be time to refocus on your personal growth. Having the dedication and patience to get back into the habit of visiting a range to perfect your shooting skills can also apply to your personal wisdom and spiritual understanding.
This month, we will revisit a tool from my book, Guys, Guns and God, that will help you to identify bad habits in your shooting skills and daily life that may need adjusting. If you feel you need help in improving your personal life and shooting skills, know that you are not alone. God will help you if you trust Him. Also, there are many people that God will place in your life who would love to help you in your journey of spiritual maturity and shooting sports. Just ask Him for his help.
You may be asking, Why? Guys, Guns, and God answer that question with a process to have a God-Centered focus while embracing firearms safety and handling. You will develop your skills, grow wise, and develop faith rather than fear. Our process enables you to think for yourself, recognize negative triggers or when you may be going off target, and, most importantly, be able to adjust your sights. While practicing the principles you are learning, this process will guide your personal development with the ultimate benefit and blessing of more self-control over your emotions, desires, and actions in everyday living.
Wisdom in Practice
Please take a moment and reflect on the Proverbs and life lessons that have guided you so far this year and see how they have come to fruition in your life.
Proverbs 14: 15-16 (NLT)
“Only simpletons believe everything they’re told! The prudent carefully consider their steps. The wise are cautious and avoid danger; fools plunge ahead with reckless confidence”.
The meaning of this verse is that a person lacking wisdom (a simpleton) struggles to differentiate between truth and falsehood. They trust everything said to them, every story they hear, and every promise made to them, often with foolish confidence and arrogance. On the other hand, a wise (prudent) person doesn’t believe everything at face value. They stop and carefully analyze and consider their next steps.
Real Stories, Real Lessons
In pistol shooting, there is a training tool that may be called a “Pistol Correction Chart,” “Common Error Chart,” or “Pistol Group Analysis.” While some believe they are superficial and shallow in benefits, I have found them helpful and frequently see them posted at pistol ranges. In Guys, Guns and God, I have created the same style diagram as a practical tool to reflect our study of the book of Proverbs and place God at the center of everything we do or think.
I call it the “Personal Correction Chart.” Just as the Pistol Correction Chart has a center and problem areas surrounding it, my version follows the same visual thinking. The outermost circle is our world, and the center bullseye is where our attention should be to have a God-centered focus. The surrounding segments are problem areas that need attention and correction. These segments represent sins that we commit that separate us from God. They manifest from unhealthy desires we feel and imagine.
As we constantly choose between life and death, light and darkness, truth and lies, freedom or bondage, we may at times allow, consciously or unconsciously, nasty things to happen. Sins such as sexual immorality, impurity, idolatry, hatred, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, envy, drunkenness, and the like keep us from having a God-centered focus. The inner rings around the bull’s eye can be barriers if we allow them to happen. It is truly a reflection of what is going on inside our hearts.
While I still struggle with many of the sins and strongholds in the “Personal Correction Chart,” I know what triggers them. Recognizing the temptations and making appropriate corrections in your life can bring you back to the bullseye of a God-centered focus. It is up to you to pause and make the right decisions.
I have created a new version emphasizing the benefits of striving for a “God-Centered Focus.” My original chart showed the triggers and strongholds to be aware of and avoid when possible. The new version aims to identify and celebrate the benefits of maintaining a “God-Centered Focus” and its ultimate freedoms. I am calling it the “God-Centered Focus Benefits Chart.”
The idea is to enable us to recognize and celebrate the results of keeping a “God-centered focus.” As you see in this new chart, the benefits are well worth our efforts: to disclose the truth, maintain sobriety, take the initiative, be truthful, find peacefulness, have virtue, worship God only, humility, self-discipline, and be more loving.
Best regards,
Randy Abramovic
Author of Guys, Guns & God