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Christ Inspired, Secular Challenged |
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Published by Randy Hain - Bell Oaks
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Wednesday, 27 February 2008 |
Do you find it challenging to live a balanced Christian life that unites faith, family and work? Does your Christ-inspired faith sometimes get
deflated throughout the course of everyday life? Many of us feel overwhelmed by the obstacles we
face from an increasingly agnostic media, religious-indifferent work
environments, and declining family-focused values. This constant battle has
worn us down to the point that we adopt distinctively different personalities
for church, home and work-it is spiritually and emotionally toxic. Consequently,
is it time to "upgrade" to a life where our values
are aligned with our obligations?
James L. Nolan, author of Doing
the Right Thing at Work, said in a recent talk to St. Peter Chanel parish:
"We are in the middle of a profound sea
change affecting all aspects of life: social, cultural, economic, and
political. Changes are being played out
all over the world. Prompted by the
alienation and uncertainty of our age, people-now more than ever-want to find a
reliable moral compass. They want to
integrate their whole selves; integrate who they are with what they do. Some are coming to recognize a deep-seated
drive within each one of us to use our talents, intelligence and imagination
for the greater good."
I think many of us want to engage
in conversation that brings about change, but don't know where to begin. Displaying courage in the face of society's
obstacles is difficult, but perhaps we should focus our attention on
manifesting small acts of bravery that are meaningful. I don't believe that Christ expects us to win
the war by ourselves, but I do believe he expects us to be good soldiers.
Our Lord says in the Book of
Matthew, "You are the salt of the
earth. You are the light of the
world. A city set on a mountain cannot
be hidden. Just so, your light must
shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your
heavenly Father." -Matthew 5:13-14 and 16.
Letting your light shine before others is about testimony. It is about setting a good example. It is about standing up for what is right and
wearing your values on your sleeve. It is
about the sincere public embrace of Christ.
Humbly, I propose these simple
steps in Faith, Family and Work that we can follow in our daily lives to be
lights for Christ, take a firm stand, and ultimately to lead a more fully-integrated
life. I hope these suggestions will
bring some comfort and encouragement.
Faith
Our faith is sometimes relegated
only to Sunday mornings. We put on our "church" clothes, load up the minivan
and think about where we're going to eat afterward. But faith can easily be
incorporated into our everyday lives with a few simple pauses and
acknowledgements of Christ. Here are a few that I am working on:
Show humility and put Christ's
will before your own
- Glorify
Christ and give him thanks for every grace and blessing. Put Him first in your thoughts and
prayers and His will is more likely to be revealed. "The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt
themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted."
-Matthew 23:11-12
Be not ashamed of the name of
Christ
- Say
Merry Christmas, not Seasons Greetings!
Send Christmas cards, not Holiday
cards. Say a blessing over your
meals ... in public. Christ died on
the cross for us; can we not stand up for him in public?
Pray every day
- Spend
quiet time in prayer with the Lord to thank him and ask for his blessing
and guidance. Humbly thanking God
and praying for guidance, wisdom and help is critical to our spiritual
well-being. Make time every day to
read scripture and other books to more fully experience the lessons God
has for us.
Selflessly invest in others
- Invest
in others without an expectation of return. Make your actions serve the
needs of your brothers and sisters in Christ and you will inspire others
by your example. Add this simple phrase
to your conversations-"How can I help you?"
Be a good steward ... in your church
- Do
we give Christ and the church our time, talent and treasure? Is our charitable giving more than a mere
tax break? Consider Christ's
observation of the Woman and the Two Coins in Mark, "He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put
money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow
also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his
disciples to himself, he said to them, ‘Amen, I say to you, this poor
widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their
surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had,
her whole livelihood.'" -Mark 12:41-44. We have opportunities and an obligation
to give back to our community, get involved in church ministries and
support those less fortunate than us. We just need to decide then act.
Remember Christ is our Teacher and
Friend
- Christ
is guide, teacher and friend on our faith journey. Joe Difato writes in
his article, Reading the Signs of The Times: "The good news is that God doesn't expect us to do this all on our
own. On the contrary, he is committed to teaching us and encouraging us
along the way. This is, in fact, why he sent the Holy Spirit-the Third
Person of the Trinity-to live in our hearts. It is the Spirit's job to open
our hearts and our minds so that we can understand everything that Jesus
taught (John 14:26).
Family
Time on earth with our families is
precious, and we will be remembered and judged by how fully we lived that
time. Balancing faith and family means
living in the moment, avoiding distractions from work, and appreciating the
memories we make in the time God gives us with our loved ones. Following are
some ideas to consider:
Spend time with your family, not money
- Our
children look to us for love, guidance and boundaries. Today's "surrogate parents"-television,
computers, video games are teaching them that materialism is a god worth
following. It is our responsibility to show them otherwise. Lisa Hendley writes
in a Catholic Exchange article titled, Spend Time With your Family, Not
Money: "It's not wrong for us to
want to give our children the world. What is wrong is for us to forget
that we are supposed to be the "grown ups" in the equation - the
ones who teach our kids that living within our means and not being overly
reliant upon debt makes sense financially, emotionally and spiritually. So
next time you are struggling with balancing the family budget, remember
these words of wisdom-spend time with your family, not money!"
Set a good faith example for your
children
- If
you want to know what kind of Christians your children will be, look in
the mirror. They look to Mom and Dad and mimic our example. If you pray, they will pray. If you are joyful about attending
church, they will be excited as well.
Discuss scripture and bible stories. Point out appropriate heroes
for them among the figures of the bible or saints who have lived exemplary
lives.
The family that prays together
stays together
- Like
many of you, this is a challenge my family is facing. We pray before meal time and bed time
with our children and I hope the meaning of what we are doing will
eventually sink in. But raising children is a marathon, not a sprint. Keep
at it. You will reach them.
We are here to help our family get
to heaven
- As
parents, we have no greater responsibility than to help get our families
to heaven. It is our mission, our
vocation. As part of leading a
balanced life, we should always consider how to bring our children closer
to Christ. Simply attending church
is not enough as writer George Barna (author of Transforming Children
Into Spiritual Champions) said in this Catholic Exchange interview: "...
the importance of families realizing that they are called to be the
primary spiritual developers of their children. It is not a church's job
to develop a family's children's spiritually. The church is there to support
the family, not to replace the family."
Work
Everything is so closely tied to political
correctness these days that company executives are running scared. It's simply
the landscape of today's corporate environment. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't
express, and more importantly celebrate, our love of Christ in the workplace by
being moral, ethical, and generally good people. Here are some thoughts that
are certainly appropriate for a professional setting:
Wear your values on your sleeve
- Do
people know what you stand for?
What you believe in? Write down
your values and keep them with you.
In our ambiguous world it may seem difficult to take a stand for
what you believe, but your values should be your center that guides your actions
and decisions.
Be a good steward ... at your
company
- As
a complement to stewardship of faith, be a good steward of your company
time, talent and treasure. Do you
and your company give back to the community? It is the right thing to do and is
ultimately good for business. Get
involved, make a difference and contribute; perhaps if you lead, your
company will follow.
Set a good example for your
co-workers
- Be
honorable, ethical and moral in business.
Standing strong behind your beliefs in the workplace will earn you
respect among colleagues and create opportunities for deeper dialogue
about faith.
Make your role about serving
others
- The
idea of servant-leadership is not new.
Serving your clients, serving your peers, serving your community ...
is in essence serving Christ. Pope John Paul II said, "The purpose of a business firm is not simply to make a profit,
but it is found in its very existence as a community of persons who in
various ways are endeavoring to satisfy their basic needs and who form a
particular group at the service of the whole society."
See your work as a vocation
- Michael
Naughton writes in his article, A Labor Day Reflection: Three Views on
Work: "A vocation enables
work to become more satisfying but understood not solely from the
perspective of the self or even from the community, but informed by God's
grace. Work as a vocation transforms the worker and the object the worker
produces by God's grace. A vocation integrates the divine into the
activity of work."
Do the Right Thing
- It
seems so basic, yet it is surprisingly challenging. Look at Enron, WorldCom and other
countless examples of poor ethical and moral behavior in companies. Jim Nolan, author of Doing The Right
Thing at Work, has outlined a five step program to guide us in the
pursuit of ethics and virtue in the workplace: 1) Self awareness, 2) Expanding
our horizons to include concern for all in God's creation, 3) Engagement
in our work and in our world, 4) Community and 5) Prayer.
My intent in sharing these ideas
is to show how simply you can alter your life in a way that assimilates faith,
family and work. I try every day to
follow these steps, and I struggle like anyone else. The challenge is to practice them not as a
bunch of new "to-dos," but as part of a broader, unifying approach to balance
and integration.
My personal story is that I
converted to the Catholic Church in 2006 after 23 years in a state of
"spiritual wilderness." I was a strict separatist: my work and personal life
never connected. When I embraced
Catholicism, it opened my eyes to the reality that God comes first, and my will
must be subordinate to His will. I
experienced a conversion not only in my new faith and devotion to Jesus Christ,
but in my world view. I began to see for
the first time the vital necessity of integrating all three areas of my life.
My hope is for everyone to undergo
a true "conversion of the soul" and lead an integrated, balanced life. It isn't easy, but worth the journey. I encourage you to begin tomorrow with a firm
disposition to do good, practice virtue and emulate Christ. Thank God and
praise His name. Say a prayer to our
Lord on your way to work asking for guidance and grace throughout the day. Be kind to people you meet and offer
assistance freely without an expectation of return. Pray for Jesus to show you that
the challenges that present themselves each day are opportunities to grow in
holiness and virtue.
In Phillipians 4:8 we read, "Finally brothers, whatever is true,
whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy
of praise, think about these things."
Put Christ first, and the rest will follow.
Finally,
I would like to share this appropriate quote from Albert Einstein: "The world is a dangerous place, not
because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do
nothing." I pray that we all can become better Lights for
Christ. Thank you and God Bless you.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 27 February 2008 )
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