If you want to be a millionaire, you have to be good at anticipating (or so rumor has it). Millionaires aren’t caught by surprise because they’ve planned ahead. They’ve prepared for any contingency. The same principle is true for those who want to live a rich life: they anticipate.

If you want your kid to live a richer life than the average Britney, then teach her to anticipate.

Buckle up. This blog post will be a fast drive, but by the end you should know why anticipating is important and I’ll provide you with specific areas in which your kids should anticipate if they want to live a rich life.

I heard it rumored that Tiger Woods has nailed a sixty foot putt. A Tiger Woods fanatic could correct me, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it were true. I’ve seen him putt. Besides his fist pump, his crouch behind putter to eye the green has become an iconic image of golf. The dude knows how to read the dips and rise in a golf green. If I hit a sixty foot putt we call it luck. If Tiger hits a sixty foot putt, it’s because he’s anticipated the line of the putt really well. But his anticipation is not limited to the green. He anticipates the wind, the high grass, the traps, and the hole itself even when he can’t see the hole from the tee.

Golf is a game of anticipation and Tiger Woods is a master of the game. Life is also a game of anticipation and if you want your kids to be winners, then teach them to anticipate like the masters do.

We make the mistake of thinking that simple obedience is all the kids need to think about. In so doing, we don’t equip them to thrive in life. Yes, obedience is important. Anticipating is more important.

Maybe it’s time we taught our kids to deliberately imagine possibilities so that they can win at the game of life.

We want our kids to win the game of life. Anticipating in these areas will help them do just that:

• Anticipate temptation: winning kids anticipate where they might face temptation and they anticipate what they will do when faced with temptation. They are able to avoid the temptation entirely if they anticipate it. If the temptation surprises them, then they have at least anticipated a way out. When Joseph fled the slut with nothing but his birthday suit on, we should recognize that he probably didn’t make that decision in the moment. He knew what he would do in that situation long before the situation presented itself. If our kids think they’ll be strong without planning ahead, then they’re cooked.

• Anticipate need: winning kids anticipate where they might be able to fill a need. Instead of waiting for Mom to tell them what to do, they anticipate her need. Imagine the Mom whose kids are doing what she wanted before she even asks them to! And this anticipation isn’t limited to Mom. Kids can do this with each other, with neighbors, with yard work, and passing food at dinner. This kind of anticipation will make them a real asset in a world of massive need.

• Anticipate opportunity: winning kids anticipate the open doors that will lead them to a fuller life. Many of us spend our days reacting and, therefore, miss the opportunities that might make our life richer. Financial opportunities, spiritual opportunities, relational opportunities will pass us and our children by if we aren’t anticipating them. We want our kids to live with eyes wide open.

Do you want your kids to be like Ben Palpant on the golf course or like Tiger Woods on the golf course? One is sometimes lucky (but spends most of his time yelling “Fore!” and hiding behind trees) while the other is deliberate.

Teach your kids to live life deliberately. Teach them to anticipate.

One last reminder: all this anticipation will be for naught if they anticipate out of fear. If they anticipate failure, they’ll likely fail. If they anticipate in hope, then they’ll look forward to whatever God has in store for them.

Future Attractions:

Next week we’ll discuss the word “but” (…not “butt) and how such a small word can absolutely change a life. Can’t wait!