Managing Your Life--PART 1

EFFECTIVE LIFE MANAGEMENT DEFINED

By Reverend William R. Cunningham
October 3, 1999

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Managing your life includes the following.

1. Being prepared for possible situations (example health insurance, car insurance)
2. Planning for desired and possible situations
3. Reacting or responding to situations as they occur

The Christian has the advantage in that we have God to guide us and help us. A non-Christian only has himself or herself to rely on. Of course we can say that we have others to depend on but they are susceptible to the same limitations and hindrances as we are.

How can we manage our life most effectively? Answering this question involves the following.

1. What is effective life management?
2. What is the purpose for managing our lives?
3. What tools are available for effective life management?
4. What are the techniques of life management?
5. What is the process of life management?
6. Belief and Truth as they relate to managing our life

We will discuss all of these questions and their respective answers in this lesson. This lesson is designed to provide you with information that will enable you to better manage your life most effectively.

I recommend that you also read the following publications for relating and supporting information to this topic.

1. Fulfilling our desires
2. Loving Life
3. Why Things Happen
4. Discover Your God Given Purpose

What is effective life management? First we should ask what is life management and then we can determine how to make it more effective. I define life management as the process of governing our lives so that we fulfill our God given purpose, enjoy what we have accomplished (worked for) at any one moment, and dealing with life situations. So Life management is a process. This implies that we get better at it as we do it. Therefore, someone who purposefully manages his or her life will only become more effective at doing so. A person that does not purposefully manage their life will not become good life managers. These are people that typically don’t plan and react to situations as they occur.

Now what is effective life management? I alluded to this earlier when I said that the more we manage the more we get better at it. However, effectiveness is more than that. I use the word effective here to identify a process that is streamlined, does not involve a lot of stressful reactionary work, and truly makes life better overall. Effective life management is simply when you are governing your life to such an extent that you are progressively fulfilling your purpose, you are enjoying what you have accomplished, and you deal with situations to their completion.

Christianity has a teaching that best describes this concept of a process. Sanctification is the process of growing more into the image of Christ. Life management is very similar for the Christian. As a matter of fact, we may sometimes ask ourselves what Jesus may have done in a similar situation to help us do the "right thing." We grow in our walk with Christ as we grow in governing our lives. Consider what is included when we talk about governing our lives.

(Gal 5:16 NIV) So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

Walking or living by the Spirit will directly effect the life management process. If we live according to the word of God (The Spirit—See John 6:63) then the life management process that we use will follow suit. That is, if we live according to God’s ways then our life management process will be according to God’s ways. So an important ingredient for truly effective life management is to live according to the word (Way) of God.

How can we live God’s way? What techniques can we use to govern our lives according to the word of God? The key is to obey God. What does that mean though? Does God tell us what to do in every situation? No. Then how can we know what to do? The key again is the concept of the process as opposed to legalism. If God wanted us to live in a legalistic way then there would be a rule for every situation that occurs in our lives. Of course we know that this is not the case. There are some legal aspects to God’s way in that some things are straightforward. For example the Bible reveals to us that God commands us not to murder, steal, commit adultery, etc. Therefore, we already know what to do if for example an opportunity to steal arises. Don’t do it!

However, the majority of the decisions we have to make deal with things that are not straightforward. We normally deal with situations that God does not give a specific answer. What do we do then? Consider guidance and wisdom. Here are some things that I believe we need for effective life management according to God’s way.

1. Knowledge
2. Understanding
3. Wisdom

Consider the following scripture, which highlights a very important concept for the Christian life management process.

(Prov 2:6 KJV) For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

The tools that we need to effectively manage our life according to God’s way come from God. There is nothing that we can do in our own strength. Consider the following scriptures.

So we are going to have to rely upon God and use what he gives us (as we grow) in order to govern our lives according to his way. God provides everything for us. The only things we really have to do are learn his ways, grow in his ways, and do what he says.

Knowledge is the information that we acquire day to day and situation to situation. Knowledge is also the information that we receive from God that we can use to manage our lives. The primary source of the former type of knowledge is simply the education provided for us in schools, trades, experienced people, and the like. This type of knowledge is basic facts about things and how things work. For example, we can obtain knowledge of interest rates for a particular bank account. We can obtain knowledge about fixing cars, repairing air conditioners, cleaning, etc. All of these things are straightforward though the techniques involves may not be exclusive (there are sometimes many ways to do a particular job). This secular knowledge implies the importance of purposefully acquiring formal education on topics that interest us or are necessary for normal life management functions (driving, safety procedures, etc.).

The latter type of knowledge deals with knowing God’s ways. This means that we have to know the processes involved in doing things God’s way since God doesn’t control us like puppets. In a nutshell, this means that we have to know how the Kingdom of God operates since Christians operate or should operate in that realm. Jesus gave us much information on how the Kingdom of God Operates. For example, consider the following scripture.

So the knowledge that we need ultimate comes from God though it comes by at least two methods: Secular and God’s word.

Knowledge is meaningless without understanding. Consider someone that knows all of the formulas for a particular subject in school. If he or she doesn’t understand the formulas then they will be of no use to him or her. He or she will not be able to solve problems unless the subject matter or what is learned is indeed understood. The Bible encourages us to understand so that the knowledge that we have will indeed be a part of the life management process that we use. That is, understanding makes things second nature to us and more useful to us.

Wisdom is thought of as the ability to use what we know. It is really discernment. The knowledge and understanding that we have are tools controlled by discernment that we can use to solve problems, make decisions, and deal with life situations. Wisdom is discernment. This brings up a very important point that we alluded to earlier. Discernment requires a platform on which to operate. For example, a person using the wisdom (discernment) of God will do things differently then one using the wisdom (discernment) of the world. The mode of operation and the protocols (governing rules) will be different for the two. Therefore, again we see the importance of knowing God’s way because the WAY we live by will determine the wisdom that we use and therefore the mode of discernment that we abide by.

Another point I will briefly introduce is the concept of conscience. Conscience is the underlying mode of operation that we live by. It is the heart of an individual and what is used to determine what is right or wrong. It is the center of our morals and sense of right. Therefore, a conscience that is of God will lead us towards God’s way. A conscience that is of the world will lead us to the world’s way. Again we see the importance of first knowing God’s way and then doing things God’s way. Ultimately, as I said earlier, we have to simply obey God in one way or another.

Thus far we have defined life management, as it will be used in this lesson. Life management is a process for governing our lives God’s way. The important point is that it is according to God’s way for the Christian. We also found that God has provided all that we need to do things his way. The three important components that we need are knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. These too are from the Kingdom of God since our knowledge, understanding, and wisdom should be relative to God’s way.