403: Pipe Dreams

When it comes to purpose, vision and goals, many people have dreams and some share them with me. I had someone tell me he wanted to own a television station, another tell me that he wanted to give $100 million away and still another that she wanted to have a chain of homes for abused children and women. While I listen politely and do all I can to encourage them, I am thinking all the while, "This is nothing but a pipe dream!" A pipe dream is an unrealistic hope or expectation, but until today, I didn't know the origin of the phrase until I did some research. Do you want to know where the phrase "pipe dream" came from? if you do, you know the rules - you will have to read on.

WHAT ARE YOU SMOKING?

The phrase pipe dream came from the dreams some people had when they smoked opium in the 19th century. After they imbibed, they would have strange visions and some works like the poem Kubla Khan were said to be the result in part to opium. There is another question among the young today when they hear someone make an outlandish statement. They ask, "What are you smoking?" an obvious reference to someone who isn't in full control of their faculties.

Now that you know the source, you may not think it fair on my part to refer to some people's dreams as pipe dreams, but I maintain it is fair - not because they are on drugs, but because their dream is totally and completely unrealistic.

You see, God cannot give you what you are not ready to receive. If you have not developed your potential, God cannot and will not promote you, no matter how much faith you have. Let's consider the examples I mentioned in the opening paragraph.

The man who wanted to own a television station had no experience in business or media for that matter. He worked in an unrelated job and had no concept of what television was all about, nor was he prepared to learn. The man who wanted to give $100 million away was playing the lottery, instead of being involved in jobs or training that could teach him how to manage and distribute large sums of money. The woman who wanted to earn a chain of homes was not even working with the abused or afflicted!

In my humble opinion, none of the people in those three examples was doing anything to prepare themselves for their dream. They were like people who were believing for a best-selling book but never wrote or developed their writing skills. They all had pipe dreams in the Lord and they were just as fantastic as someone who was on a hallucinatory drug.

SUCCESS IS NO ACCIDENT

While success requires heaps of faith, it also requires preparation. David learned to lead and protect sheep and that prepared him to be king. Saul was a Hebrew scholar and that enabled him, with God's help, to be Saint Paul. I recently read that experts estimate that it requires 10,000 hours invested in any one discipline or skill to be ready for success. In my own life, I have interviewed and counseled 2,500 people over the last eight years. I have written, read, talked and taught about purpose. I have debated, been debated, made friends, lost friends, traveled the world and gone to school. Now those are the things that I can do while I have trusted God for the things that only He can do. Even then, whatever I do is a result of His grace, but His grace would not open the door if I was not prepared to walk through it.

So what is your dream and purpose? If you know, then you must do all that you can do to see it happen in God's will and timing. If you are believing for an airplane, you can at least learn to fly! If you will travel, you can at least get a passport and learn some words in the language of the culture to which you are headed. Pipe dreams are just fantasy, but faith dreams are real, because faith is real, the substance of things hoped for. And we also know James wrote, "You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone" (James 2:24).

The Chinese say that a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Are you ready to take the first step or, if you have already, the next step in your faith journey. Are you prepared to take a step every day, no matter how many steps you have remaining between you and your dream? I hope so. If you are, then you are a candidate for greatness. If not, then all you may have is a pipe dream, and pipe dreams may make for good poetry, but they seldom achieve the end result. Have a great week!

************************************

1. THE SOPHIA FUND UPDATE: $155 came in last week for The Fund and I wired $500 to be used in Zimbabwe. As I reported last week, I am having more fun with this than any one person should be allowed to have and thank you for your faithful support. Yet the purpose of the Fund is not fun, for we are using the money to feed AIDS orphans and widows in Kenya and Zimbabwe.

I wrote an update and a thank you for those who have given to the Fund two weeks ago and you can read it here. You can also read about my rationale for The Fund here (named after my late mother) that will help feed widows and orphans in Kenya and Zimbabwe.

Please consider a contribution of at least $5 toward the fund and hopefully more. You can use the "Chipin" widget on the Monday Memo site to contribute, or go directly to my website to contribute there through PayPal, or send a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 91099, Pittsburgh, PA 15221. Make sure you let me know it is for The Sophia Fund. Don't delay; give today and make a difference in the world.

If you give a gift of $25 or more during the month of June, I will send you a free copy of my book, Strictly Business, while supplies last (I sent out five last week). Thanks, and I look forward to seeing you play a part in addressing the issues of HIV/AIDS and world hunger.

2. REVELATION: I still need your help. I still cannot find a publisher for an important book I have written, which is a devotional focusing on the book of Revelation. So I feel an urgent need to self-publish this work, which will cost about $2,500. I wrote about this project in my blog a few months ago and encourage you to read what I wrote there. You can also read some sample excerpts of the book here.

In that post, I explain my urgency in wanting to get it out for people to read. Once you read my rationale, please consider if the Lord wants you to help me to restore an important book of the Bible that has been obscured by so many weird interpretations. I was ready to remove this appeal this week, but I sense someone is out there who is going to help. Just do whatever God is telling you to do.

3. DAILY PROVERB: I am now posting a short daily devotional focusing on one verse every day on my blog site. If you would like to read it or subscribe to receive it, just go to my site and register there. I promise to have it updated every day.

4. MONDAY MEMOS ARCHIVE: Did you know that all 400 Monday Memos are archived on my website along with an index that includes the topic and Scriptural references for each Memo? This makes it possible to read past Memos or search for specific topics or cross references with ease.

5. HEAR ME PREACH: You can download and listen to last week's message I delivered at my local church, entitled Cliffhanger Faith by going here. You can download the notes from that site, too.

6. FACEBOOK: I update my status on Facebook (you can find me by searching my email, johnstanko@att.net) every morning to include a daily verse from Proverbs and an inspirational quote. I do the same on Twitter @johnstanko. Go there to sign up and follow along.

7. FREE PURPOSEQUEST ASSESSMENT: I updated and improved the feeback email you receive from your online assessment, so now is a great time to take or re-take the purpose assessment on my website. This is not a scientific survey, but something that is meant to stimulate your thought and direct your study concerning where you are in your PurposeQuest.

Comments

[KN]

Dear John,

I have been reading the Monday Memo for the last couple of years now. You keep me inspired. Going by your description of a pipe dream, I'm happy to say mine is not and in fact this message has given me fresh energy to keep doing what I'm doing.

Since I'm in Kenya, let me know how I (and friends) can make a direct contribution to the Sophia fund.

Stay blessed,

[Theresa Kavejandja]

dear dr Stanko. I just want to thank the almighty father who are using you in such a great way. The bible study and dose of proverbs is ministering to me and those I share them with. I learn a lot from them. may He continue to use you and thank you for being blessing to others.
yours in His service:
Theresa
Windhoek
Namibia