my three rules for life

For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.

1 Corinthians 14:33a

There are three simple rules that I want to direct my life and my thinking. They have served me well in following Jesus, and I want them to lead me to finishing life well over how many more years I may have left.

1. Worship with discipline. What I mean is this: I must regularly practice spiritual disciplines both in my personal pursuit of knowing God and also in corporate worship with the saints. I expect self discipline (getting up early each morning, having a method to reading God’s Word and practicing fervent prayer, capturing my time with God in a written production of some kind—either a simple list or a journal entry) to yield the delicious, abundant fruit of knowing God. The same is true in a church service. I expect an orderly commitment to prayer, singing God’s Word, reading scripture, preaching and applying the Bible, centering on the gospel, to all yield growth and maturity in Christ.

2. Live with simplicity. Our lives are bombarded with complexity at every turn. I reject that! I think most families in our culture (and tragically... even Christian ones) are revved at full RPMs all the time. This is unhealthy and I believe it is wrong. I refuse to live with the American Dream of maximum floor space in a suburban McMansion. I refuse to think I have to enroll in every experience possible. I refuse to think I have to watch or listen to or follow every popular entertainment. Instead, I have found living in half the space, doing just a few things I love with gusto in a way that creates margin to reach into the lives of other people really well, and walking my life at a “pilgrim” pace rather than an all out sprint to be much more satisfying and rewarding spiritually. I regret that it took me too long, and cost my family too much, for me to get this.

3. Seek peace through kindness. This is how I want people to know and think of me. I want to be as kind as Jesus is as much as I possibly can. I want to be a generous, kind, understanding soul who is known for making peace and not causing commotion. It’s why I want to give away as much of my income as I can, why I want to run from materialism and immerse myself in loving people, helping people, giving myself to my Savior for the betterment of Christ’s kingdom. I despise the thought of leaving any personal estate behind to be a burden of maintenance to anybody else, but instead long for the peace of the King of Kings to rule my world!