Burn Your Spiritual Boats
There has been a few references and stories on the web about “burning your boats”. They have mostly been in reference to helping you succeed in business. But what could possibly be more important than making sure you have first burned your spiritual boats?
Just in case you are unfamiliar with the “burn your boats” story I will first offer a brief summary. Although some people attribute the idea to George Washington or Cortez or Julius Caesar, it seems to have originated with the ancient Greeks.
When the Greek warriors would land their boats on the enemy’s shore, the Greek commanders would order them to “burn their boats”. This would instill a “fight or die” attitude in the Greek warriors that would remove all hope or thought of retreat or surrender. In turn, this made them passionate for victory and helped to give them their reputation for being such fierce warriors.
This story is now a classic illustration of “commitment”. It can be applied in almost any area of life and obtain results—that is when we burn our figurative boats that are holding us back from a firm steadfast commitment to any goal that we may have.
Have you burned your figurative spiritual boats?
Have you layed aside every weight and sin that so easily besets you? (Hebrews 12:1 KJV)
Have you gotten rid of all provison for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof? (Romans 13:14 KJV)
Have you kept your hand to the plough, and not looked back? (Luke 9:62 KJV)
Have you made a firm commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ to trust and obey Him? Or do you allow doubts and fears and “boats” (means of escape) to make you waver? Once for all, burn your spiritual boats!
Re-commit as often as necessary, even several times a day if needed but do not even think of those spiritual “boats”!
Now, you are on your way to true success. Now, you can safely apply the “burn your boats” analogy to other areas of your life—how about to your exercise program? or to your weight loss diet?
Let me know in what areas you have been successful in burning your boats, in the comments below.