360 Leadership News for June 23rd

The world has a way of doing things, and the majority of the time it’s driven by selfishness, greed, and deception, none of which line up with God’s intended way for us to live and be successful.

We’re created with traits that make us unique from any other created thing. We have the ability to use our intellectual, emotional, spiritual and physical senses to choose! The ability to choose is an incredible gift, but like all other gifts we need to learn to be good stewards of it. Specifically, for this discussion I’m referring to the ‘energy’ that we have, to use or waste, and the consequences of making a poor decision in reference to that energy.

The world ‘pushes’ us to conform to its ways. After all, ‘burning the candle at both ends’ is the only way we can be successful, right? We’ve been conditioned. And suddenly (not really) we find ourselves with our backs against the wall of time, resources, relationships and energy. Then in desperation we turn to what the world has taught us is the way to fix it. We have affairs (with a more understanding person), we use marijuana more and more, or we increase our energy boosters and anti-depressants.

Oh, and did I mention that our ‘margin’ decreases to where there’s no room for others and for addressing our own health.

So, does this mean that we need to quit, sell the business, become a hermit living off the grid (which, by the way is becoming more and more popular and I applaud most of those folks for turning to one of the least harmful remedies for uncontrolled pace and ‘noise’)

This leaves us with a seemingly impossible situation.

But wait, there’s more . . . it’s hard to see through the clutter, pace, and noise, but the answer’s related to what Jesus has directed us to do. He said, “be in the world but not of it” – is He serious? He really must not understand our world today. That’s an impossible request!

First of all, He understands our world perfectly – nothing we experience today has taken Him by surprise. He goes on to say through the apostle Paul that “we are not to be conformed to this world, but we’re to be transformed by the renewing of our minds” and align our intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and physical ‘parts’ with the heart and mind of God.

This alignment requires intentionality in the way we choose how to live ‘in the world without being conformed to it’. This alignment also begins the process of refreshing and restoring our energy in all areas of our being.

There’s so much to this process but notice it goes back to choosing healthy options and those options can be found in scripture and through good and wise counsel.

Remember what Paul writes to Timothy, his young trainee and developing leader in 2 Tim 3:16-17 . . .

Into the Word

“All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction for training in righteousness; so that the man or woman of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

One other thing comes to mind (well actually a lot of other things do) which is God’s simple request to us – “Be still and know that I am God”.

See you all this Friday as we dig deeper into all of this.