Orientation simply means the way you lean—the direction you face, the tendency of your heart, the inclination or pull that draws you a certain way. It’s your inner compass, your quiet tilt, your underlying drift — enough expressions. I think you get the point.

Today, the word is often associated with sexual preference, but that’s not the question here. The deeper question is this: What is your life’s orientation?

Which way does the current inside you flow—toward the world, or toward the Cross and everything it represents and requires?
When you wake up each morning, what stirs excitement—your secular pursuits, or the spiritual possibilities?
If you could see your greatest dream fulfilled, what would it be? Would it be a dream any non-Christian could share, or something distinctly and unmistakably Christian?

When your mind wanders—when you stare out the window and drift without effort—where does it go? Toward the image on the left… or the one on the right?

The Apostle Paul wrote to the younger Timothy about two very different orientations. Some are driven by money—more money—and by what can be gained, experienced, and enjoyed in this world. Others are driven to gain more of Christ and the things of God. One orientation is toward the here and now; the other leans toward the hereafter. Most people’s interests revolve around time—this life only.

So ask yourself: Could a non-Christian share the same goals, pursuits, and dreams you have for your life? Or is there something unmistakably different about yours?

If you were asked to write down your top three life objectives and then show them to your classmates or colleagues, would they shake their heads and say, “Wow! These are unusual… we need to talk. I want to understand the driving force in your life. What shapes you?”

Paul described the goals of self-serving people of the world—self-focused, short-term, low-level pursuits. Then he turned to Timothy and wrote:

But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called … 1 Timothy 6:11-12

Timothy—flee the orientation of the world.
Run the other direction.
Live as a man of God.

Don’t chase material gain, worldly recognition, or the applause of people. Instead, chase after God and His eternal interests. And if you wonder what that looks like—here’s Paul’s list:

• Righteousness – a life marked by honesty, fairness, integrity, and uprightness.
• Godliness – God-likeness; a life centred on His interests, shaped by what pleases Him.
• Faith – looking upward, beyond what natural eyes can see; living for the unseen.
• Love – not a love of money, but a warm affection for Christ, for fellow believers, and for a perishing world.
• Steadfastness – endurance and steadiness under trial, in conflict and dependability despite opposition. A willingness to suffer loss for the sake of Christ—so unlike the world’s orientation.
• Gentleness – the humble, gracious spirit and kind disposition that stands out in a self-promoting, grasping age.

Which way are you leaning—right now, today, beneath the surface—when no one but God is looking? What is your orientation? A man of the world or a man of God? A woman of the world or a woman of God?

I confess there are times when I read the words of the Apostle Paul and dismiss their relevance to my life — words like these:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

Words like these from the New Living Translation:

I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with Him. Philippians 3:7-9 NLT

The reality is that when these words seem like pie-in-the-sky ideals for 21st-century believers and lose their relevance and applicability to my life, my orientation is wrong —yes, mine! I am leaning in the wrong direction. I need a spiritual adjustment.

Tatiana Schlossberg – Spiritual Reflections for You

Lord, search my heart and reveal the true orientation of my life. Turn my inner drift from the world toward the Cross, and realign my desires with what matters to You. Shape me into one of Yours who pursues righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness, that Christ alone may live through me.