Destiny! Destiny! No escaping that for me.  These memorable words were uttered by Dr. Frederick Frankenstein in Mel Brook’s hilarious comedy “Young Frankenstein.”  Unlike Dr. F., for most of us, there is a real possibility of missing our destiny.  Once we have succeeded in our professions or in raising our families many find themselves in a quandary to know “what’s next.”

I don’t know if you share my experience, but when I became a Christian, during the Jesus movement in the 1970’s, all I could think about was what God wanted me to do with my life.  I was overcome with a sense that I had a destiny.  I knew there was a plan, but what plan?  In those early years I meditated on the words of people like Albert Schweitzer who said, “I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.”  I also found myself fascinated with verses from the bible that said, “…before you were born I set you apart” and “…we are…created…to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” All of this only confirmed my belief that I had a destiny.  The unanswered question was, “How would I discover it?”

Try it for six weeks, six days or six hours…but try it.  Add love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance to the list of behaviors that family, friends, coworkers and associates can expect from you. Expect more of yourself, not others.

But wait, their is someone I can train after all.  It is me!  Whether we are a business person, a parent, a minister, or a mate, there are some fundamentals of behavior that others ought to be able to expect from us.  There is a bonus benefit, too.  When we focus on how we treat others, we won’t have as much time to moan about how others are not living up to our expectations.   

Remember Paul?  No, not McCartney, but Saint Paul.  He had some great advice for what others could expect from us.  After talking about the less then marvelous behaviors most of us exude at one time or another, he challenged his audience to focus on nine dynamic qualities.  He told them to project love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.