I love this story!  The story is told of a businessman who was getting off of a cruise ship at the pier of a small coastal village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked.  Seeing several large fish inside the small boat, the businessman complimented the fisherman on the quality of his catch and asked how long it took to catch them. “Oh, just a little while”, the fisherman replied.

A little surprised, the young business man asked, “Why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?”   The content fisherman said, “This is enough to feed me and my family and take care of our immediate needs.  I really don’t need any more.”   “But what do you do with the rest of your time when you are not fishing?” asked the confused young man.   “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a walk with my wife, stroll into the village each evening where I have dinner with friends and play guitar with my buddies; I have a full and busy life.”

The lad scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could really help you out. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds from the extra fish buy a bigger boat.   With the proceeds from the bigger boat and all of the extra fish that you bring in, you could buy several boats and hire other people t help you fish, and eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats.  Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, and could eventually open your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution!  You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to New York City where you will run your expanding, growing and profitable enterprise.”

The fisherman asked, “How long will this all take?” to which the young man replied, “15-20 years.”  “But what then?”  The business man laughed and said “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions.”

“Millions, sir? Then what?”

“Then you would retire, move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a walk with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could eat dinner with friends and play your guitar with your buddies.”

Makes you think doesn’t it!

Life Quality Number One:  MERCY!  On a good day – life is hard.  Live life long enough and your life is going to get turned upside down.  It is important to remember that all of us living life are going through and facing similar things.  The Golden Rule says “To do unto others as you would have them to do unto you!”  We are all in need of some mercy!  When I was younger we used to play this game called”MERCY” where we would interlock our fingers and see who could bend the other person’s fingers backward.  The way to win the game was by getting the other person to say “mercy”.  We should show mercy to others without them having to ask for it.  We should show it, because we need it!

Life Quality Number Two – Faith!  Faith is about trust and we all need to grow some trust into our lives.  We especially need to learn to trust God.  Do you believe that God loves you?  Do you believe that God has a plan for your life?  If you really believe that He loves you and has a plan for your life, then it is very important that you learn to trust Him!  When we trust God, we arrive at His promises and His purposes for our lives.  Fear is the enemy of faith.  It is not always easy or convenient to trust and have faith in God, but it is always necessary!  Faith is like a muscle – the more you use it, the stronger it grows!

Life Quality Number Three – Obedience!  Obedience always follows faith!  You know that your faith is growing when you find yourself obeying God’s direction for your life.  You cannot obey without faith and you cannot have faith without obeying!  It is important to remember:  There is a bigger plan than your plan!  Open your heart and life to God and follow His will by being obedient in all of your steps for Him and His glory!

Take a few moments today to:  RECEIVE God’s Mercy and forgiveness and make sure that you are also sharing mercy and forgiveness with others!  TRUST God, overcome fear and experience victory!  START making steps of obedience that take you into God’s will for your life!