Good Intentions...Wrong Perspective

I was watching Judge Judy the other day, and I have to admit, I love that show.  I love the way justice in her courtroom is so clear-cut, so black and white.  It doesn't matter to her if you were the right thing or were just trying to be nice- if you can't prove your position from a legal perspective, there's nothing she will do to help you.  Whether she's right about every single case or not is beside the point.  Judge Judy has legal integrity- she doesn't play favorites, and she looks at everything through her perspective, a legal perspective.  There are a lot of really eccentric, unwise people that are on her show.  There are also many others that tell a story that sounds totally truthful.  Many of them were taken advantage of and were even victims of betryal.  Judge Judy at times shows sympathy (ok, so not very often) before telling them exactly what they don't want to hear: if they have no legal proof they will not win the case.

I began to think how similar I am at times to all those people who wasted time and money on that show just because they were looking at it through the wrong perspective.  They maybe told the truth, but they had no legal proof- and from a legal persepctive that's all that matters.  How many times do we do things with great intentions, but coming from a totally wrong perspective...especially in our spiritual lives?  We pray for sick people to get well instead of worrying about their spiritual condition (don't get me wrong here, there is nothing wrong with praying for the sick.  It's a wonderful thing to do, especially because we know God heals!)- we are often more concerned with physical health instead of spiritual health.  Shouldn't we be more concerned with seeing a soul saved than a body healed?  How often do we pray for blessing and protection for ourselves, without even thinking about the plans that God has laid out for us?  Again, there is nothing wrong with asking for blessing or protection.  Nothing at all.  But so often our prayers revolve around our comfort.  We pray for things that make us feel good in the moment...and feelings can change in the blink of an eye.  I want to change in this area in my life.  I want the good intentions and the right perspective.  Instead of praying for my personal comfort, I want to pray for the things that will drive me to the Lord's presence.  I want to desire intimacy with the Father more than I want a happy, comfortable here and now.  I want what He wants for me, more than what I want for myself.  I want to receive the blessings with joy and the trials with joy...because those are the things that keep me running into His arms.