Principles for Navigating Life — Pr. Marlon's Blog

How do you navigate life?

Do you intentionally choose how you live or do you allow others to decide for you how you will live your life?

Are you moving intentionally towards a goal or are you simply cruising with the current consistently choosing the path of least resistance?

I do not have life all figured out, but I am constantly correcting and adjusting my course. I often review my habits, take notice of how I am spending my time and energy and how I invest my precious resources (attention, focus, energy, health, etc). I hope that this post, briefly outlining how I tackle this topic, will help you navigate your life.

I have heard people claiming they are being authentic. Sadly many times it comes across more like an excuse for careless behavior. “I am just being me” can be the equivalent of “I have no idea why I did this,” or “it felt right at the moment.”

Maybe you have met people who later regret doing what felt right at the moment. I am not saying you will never regret your choices. But I do believe that with more careful thought you can significantly diminish your regrets in life.

Get a piece of paper, or a journal, or just open a note app on your phone and let’s make some lists.

What are your core values? (What do you value most at this point in your life?
Based on your core values, what does your authentic self look like?
How do you want to be remembered?

These questions are worth careful thought. I revisit questions like this about once a month. I want to live according to what I value, and if I do not ask myself this question frequently, I end up living my life according to the value of others. Your parents, your teachers, your friends, your boss, and your spouse, all have some idea of who they want you to be. Those are not necessarily bad things, but are you becoming who you believe you are meant to be or what others want you to be?

Whatever your choice is, just be aware of it, instead of mindlessly just going with the flow.

Now that you have given some thought to your core values and what your authentic self would look like, take a moment to list your top five priorities.

I wonder if I should share mine or not. I really want you to develop your own. but if you’re curious about mine I’ll list them below.

But I strongly suggest you not read mine until you have written out your top five or at least your top 3.

My current top 5 priorities in life are

God
My Wife
My Kids
My health
My ministry (career/calling)

When I list my wife and kids I mean their well-being, not that I would always do what they want. In other words, if my wife needs something, and I would rather spend my money on something else because it would be more fun for me, I would place her needs above my desires. The same goes for my kids. This does not mean I neglect my personal needs. If it ever becomes a life or death situation I am willing to die for my wife or my kids. This also means that I will not sacrifice the well-being of my wife and kids for my personal gain (career, fame, money, etc). Though I am willing to sacrifice my health for my wife and kids I am not willing to do that for my ministry. Does this make sense?

Also, I place my wife above my kids because it is better for my kids when my wife and I are together. I believe if I were to neglect my spouse for the “sake” of my kids, my kids would end up losing in the end.

The only thing in my life that outranks my wife and kids is God. Because of my faith in who God is as revealed in the Bible, I strongly believe He is worthy of all that I am and all that I have, I live for Him and everything else that is good in my life comes from Him.

This is where the rubber meats the road. Now that you have listed your priorities, with the understanding that your priorities reflect your core values, how much time and resources have you dedicated to your priorities this past week? What about this past moth?

Here is the challenge. If you claim to have certian values and priorities, but the way you invest your time and recources does not reflect those same values, you may have preferred values that are not actually real values. our daily habits and decisions reveal what our true values are. If you claim a certain value and priority, yet not allocate any time or recourse towards it, can you really say you value it?

This is tricky. You do not want to lie to yourself. I often think about this. If I claim my wife to be my number two priority in life and yet I did nothing to help her this past week, is she really a priority in my life? Same with my kids, how muhc of my time and effort was dedicated towards them? What about my perosnal health? My ministry? Most importantly God. If I claim God to be my number one priority, yet I spent little to no time in any type of spiritual activity is God really my top priority?

Write down what seem to be your real priorities based on how you allocated time, attention, and other resources this past week and month.
What kept you from investing in your priorities? (the ones you listed above?)
What changes do you need to make in order for your allocation of time, attention, focus, energy, and resources, to match your (listed) priorities?

The next step for me is to consider what the Bible has to say about life. I realize there is a whole lot that the Bible says about life, but here are some key verses to get you started. These verses do a great job of encapsulating the big picture in a succinct way.

With what shall I come before the Lord,
And bow myself before the High God?
Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,
With calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
Ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?
- Micah 6:6-8 NKJV

In your notes or journal write down what you think this verse means.
Put it in your own words.

In light of this verse, should you make any changes to your priorities?
Does this verse help you consider what your life goals are and how you plan to achieve them?

I find these verses also incredibly powerful and challenging.

6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
“If you take away the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
- Isaiah 58:6-9 NKJV

How does this verse impact your view of what life should be about?

Are there any things you wish to add to your priorities, goals, and daily routine?

I read these passages and consider my life and how much of these activities described by Isaiah are a part of my life, and if not what I can do to include them.