INTRODUCTION: One of the things some people tend to do is what’s known as “major in the minors.” Now, you might be asking yourself, what exactly does that mean? Majoring in the minors is allowing yourself to put all of your attention in the wrong place. A good example of this would be people who are so overly concerned about what other people are doing, that they are not focused on what they themselves should be doing. It’s like you spend your time and effort worrying about things that (1) you don’t have control over, and (2) things that you can’t change. They spend their time majoring in the minors.
I said earlier that some people are majoring in the minors. One of the ways they are doing this is by focusing on the world and not the creator of the world. Man’s thirst for power and authority, with an overly active desire and will for money and greed has made the world a place that has become a problem. Some would say that the rich are getting richer, while the poor is getting poorer. Unfortunately, unless there is a change of heart, mind, and soul with some people, things will not get any better. But when we begin to look at the solution, we find that He has the power to turn all things around and make living in this world worthwhile. That’s why it’s important that we’re “Focusing on the Solution, and not on the Problem.”
I have a few points I want to look at to help us in Focusing on the Solution and Not the Problem.
1. We’re Told To Look. I’ve said before that for some people, they won’t believe something until they see it for themselves. They sometimes feel that even though it’s been told to them that something or someone has changed, they won’t get behind it until they see it for themselves. Here in verse 2, the writer is giving them (and us) the command to do something, and that is to look.
One thing I’ve learned is that some people want things to happen in their lives, but don’t want to do anything to make things happen. The writer here was just speaking about sin and how it affects us and tells us if we want to see a change, it will require us to do something. Look at your neighbor and say, “do something!”
2. We’re Told Where To Look. It’s interesting to me that when we need something, we tend to go where we believe we can find what we’re looking for. An example of this would be you wouldn’t go to a hardware store looking for dress shoes, or you wouldn’t go to a restaurant looking for work clothing. My point being, you go where you need to go to find what you’re looking for. This applies right here as the writer has given specific instructions as to where to look. The text says, “Looking unto Jesus…” This would imply that we are not to look anywhere else for what it is we need.
3. We’re Told Why To Look. These are two unique words and I believe we should understand them better. The first word “author” comes from the Greek word archego and means “a chief leader – author, captain, prince.” 1 A look at the word author and it’s definition helps us to know that Jesus is the One who the beginning of our faith. An author, naturally so, is the one who produces a book, a writing, or some production in which they are the one who are the originator of that writing. This would lend us to know that Jesus is the One who is the “chief leader – the author, captain and prince” of our faith! His presence in our lives makes the difference with life itself. The second word “finisher” also comes from the Greek word teleiotes and means “one who completes, i.e., one who consummates; – finisher.”
SUMMARY/CLOSING: As we begin to navigate our way into this new year, it’s important for us to not focus on the problems, but to focus on the solution and His name is Jesus Christ!
1 Strongs Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Greek Dictionary of New Testament Words, G747
