Renewal For Work — Renewal For Life
Renewal For Work — Renewal For Life
Renewal For Work — Renewal For Life
Renewal For Work — Renewal For Life
We are good at being busy, but too often we lack what it takes to fill our own tanks — leaving us worn out, stressed out, depleted, and deprived of what we need most. We are in desperate need of renewal.
“Have you ever been too busy driving to take time to get gas?” – Stephen Covey
Our modern culture is highly addictive. We work hard, play hard, and exercise hard. Our downtime is often filled with scrolling on our phones looking for new hacks for work, play, and exercise — or worse, we are comparing our work play and exercise to those who appear to perform those activities perfectly.
We are good at being busy, but too often we lack what it takes to fill our own tanks — leaving us worn out, stressed out, depleted, and deprived of what we need most.
We are in desperate need of renewal.
Balance?
Habit #7: Sharpening The Saw, in Stephen Covey’s Book, The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People, is about personal capability. Covey says,
“It’s preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have — you. It’s renewing the four dimensions of your nature — physical, spiritual, mental, and social/emotional.”
Covey explains in the book’s overview, “Effectiveness lies in the balance of what I call the P/PC Balance. P stands for production of desired results, the golden eggs. PC stands for production capability, the ability or asset that produces the golden eggs.”
Covey makes the case that a healthy balanced life revolves around healthy rhythms in four dimensions of life: physical, spiritual, mental, and social/emotional.
Covey dedicates most of the chapter to some very practical things we can do in each of these areas of life to live a balanced life and increase our production capability.
Getting sharper in each of these areas can lead to incremental productivity in each area, but focusing on each of these areas individually without taking care of what lies at the center of each of us will not lead to true balance and will not renew us.
We need renewal in the very core of our being.
Center On Your Source
“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, in Phenomenon of Man
We were made by Jesus to rely on Jesus as our source of life and renewal. We get this perfect wisdom in the very first words of The Gospel of John.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” – John 1:1-5
And Jesus tells us how to stay renewed for even more production capability than Covey describes. He tells us exactly how to stay connected, centered, and receive the fuel we need to be incredibly productive — bearing fruit that will last.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” – John 15:5-8
You see, it is spiritual renewal that allows us to make the most healthy decisions in the other dimensions of our life. You can not have a balanced life without a true center.
Consider how a scale works. A scale is able to balance things because it has a weighted center. Just like a scale, every human being needs a weighted center, and the center of your life is your heart. Everything flows from your heart, this is why we must guard our hearts.
Dallas Willard taught that everything flows from our heart/spirit. Our hearts are renewed as God’s Spirit speaks to our spirit (Romans 8:16-17). Willard says, “Human beings have only some small element of spirit — unbodily, personal power — right at the center of who they are and who they become. It is, above all, this spirit (or will) that must be reached, cared for, and transformed in spiritual formation.”
Renewal Is Available Daily – Even Hourly
“Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.” – Psalm 90:14
God wants us to be renewed by spending time with Him. His Word is a guide to knowing, loving, and receiving complete refreshment from Him.
John Piper explains the renewal and joy of Psalm 90:14 this way “Satisfy us.” Squeeze that end. This is a God-inspired prayer to God. That’s what the Psalms are. This means that it is God’s will for his children, for us, to experience satisfaction. It is God’s will that Christians live with hearts that are deeply content and satisfied. He does not will that our hearts be continually restless or fearful or joyless.
God’s will for us is that we be able to say with the apostle Paul, with complete authenticity, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content” (Philippians 4:11) — that is, to be satisfied, to enjoy peace, contentment, confidence, gladness, joy. And notice that he’s not equating satisfaction with pleasant circumstances.”
The mercies of God are new every morning and it is morning every time we come to Jesus for mercy.
Covey is right about making production capability a priority as he explains that renewal is the most important of the quadrant 2 activities. Our God, our Source and our Savior Jesus, is always available for us.
Covey’s upward spiral (see the graphic above) is even more relevant with God’s Spirit speaking to our spirit at the center of our being. Learning to meet with Him daily, hourly, praying without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17) guides us to make the most important commitments — resulting in doing life with unending satisfaction and joy.
Resources
Book: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Book: Renovation of The Heart
Graphic: Aligning With Life Purpose
Article: Synergize! Differences Create The Greatest Glory!
Article: Gain Influence By Seeking To Be Influenced
Article: Relationship Victory – Thinking Win/Win – Requires Consideration and Courage
Article: Choose Opportunity – Choose Relationships First
Article: Where Do You Want To Go?
Article: Proactivity Is Response Ability
Article: Do You Want A More Balanced Life?
Article: A Daily Morning Exercise
“Have you ever been too busy driving to take time to get gas?” – Stephen Covey
Our modern culture is highly addictive. We work hard, play hard, and exercise hard. Our downtime is often filled with scrolling on our phones looking for new hacks for work, play, and exercise — or worse, we are comparing our work play and exercise to those who appear to perform those activities perfectly.
We are good at being busy, but too often we lack what it takes to fill our own tanks — leaving us worn out, stressed out, depleted, and deprived of what we need most.
We are in desperate need of renewal.
Balance?
Habit #7: Sharpening The Saw, in Stephen Covey’s Book, The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People, is about personal capability. Covey says,
“It’s preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have — you. It’s renewing the four dimensions of your nature — physical, spiritual, mental, and social/emotional.”
Covey explains in the book’s overview, “Effectiveness lies in the balance of what I call the P/PC Balance. P stands for production of desired results, the golden eggs. PC stands for production capability, the ability or asset that produces the golden eggs.”
Covey makes the case that a healthy balanced life revolves around healthy rhythms in four dimensions of life: physical, spiritual, mental, and social/emotional.
Covey dedicates most of the chapter to some very practical things we can do in each of these areas of life to live a balanced life and increase our production capability.
Getting sharper in each of these areas can lead to incremental productivity in each area, but focusing on each of these areas individually without taking care of what lies at the center of each of us will not lead to true balance and will not renew us.
We need renewal in the very core of our being.
Center On Your Source
“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, in Phenomenon of Man
We were made by Jesus to rely on Jesus as our source of life and renewal. We get this perfect wisdom in the very first words of The Gospel of John.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” – John 1:1-5
And Jesus tells us how to stay renewed for even more production capability than Covey describes. He tells us exactly how to stay connected, centered, and receive the fuel we need to be incredibly productive — bearing fruit that will last.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” – John 15:5-8
You see, it is spiritual renewal that allows us to make the most healthy decisions in the other dimensions of our life. You can not have a balanced life without a true center.
Consider how a scale works. A scale is able to balance things because it has a weighted center. Just like a scale, every human being needs a weighted center, and the center of your life is your heart. Everything flows from your heart, this is why we must guard our hearts.
Dallas Willard taught that everything flows from our heart/spirit. Our hearts are renewed as God’s Spirit speaks to our spirit (Romans 8:16-17). Willard says, “Human beings have only some small element of spirit — unbodily, personal power — right at the center of who they are and who they become. It is, above all, this spirit (or will) that must be reached, cared for, and transformed in spiritual formation.”
Renewal Is Available Daily – Even Hourly
“Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.” – Psalm 90:14
God wants us to be renewed by spending time with Him. His Word is a guide to knowing, loving, and receiving complete refreshment from Him.
John Piper explains the renewal and joy of Psalm 90:14 this way “Satisfy us.” Squeeze that end. This is a God-inspired prayer to God. That’s what the Psalms are. This means that it is God’s will for his children, for us, to experience satisfaction. It is God’s will that Christians live with hearts that are deeply content and satisfied. He does not will that our hearts be continually restless or fearful or joyless.
God’s will for us is that we be able to say with the apostle Paul, with complete authenticity, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content” (Philippians 4:11) — that is, to be satisfied, to enjoy peace, contentment, confidence, gladness, joy. And notice that he’s not equating satisfaction with pleasant circumstances.”
The mercies of God are new every morning and it is morning every time we come to Jesus for mercy.
Covey is right about making production capability a priority as he explains that renewal is the most important of the quadrant 2 activities. Our God, our Source and our Savior Jesus, is always available for us.
Covey’s upward spiral (see the graphic above) is even more relevant with God’s Spirit speaking to our spirit at the center of our being. Learning to meet with Him daily, hourly, praying without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17) guides us to make the most important commitments — resulting in doing life with unending satisfaction and joy.
Resources
Book: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Book: Renovation of The Heart
Graphic: Aligning With Life Purpose
Article: Synergize! Differences Create The Greatest Glory!
Article: Gain Influence By Seeking To Be Influenced
Article: Relationship Victory – Thinking Win/Win – Requires Consideration and Courage
Article: Choose Opportunity – Choose Relationships First
Article: Where Do You Want To Go?
Article: Proactivity Is Response Ability
Article: Do You Want A More Balanced Life?
Article: A Daily Morning Exercise