Reading in Titus 2:6-7 tonight and I was impressed upon how much these verses are a part of my vision for what I do. Throughout my adult life, I have had the privilege to encourage various young men through mentoring, friendships, and accountability. These verses speak about how I am to do this: encouraging them to live wisely in all areas and in all they do. To be an example by doing good deeds of every kind. To let everything I do reflect integrity and seriousness of my teaching.
Living wisely is huge for me. Teaching guys to be wise stewards financially; living in freedom from debt; living frugally and understanding the principles of giving and the joy that comes from doing it is a huge part of my heart. I want to show these guys that living clean and organized lives can be a blessing and a place of freedom. Thinking back a few years when my friend Chad and I had this discussion and it was so cool to watch the transformation in his life in this area. When I recently went to his home in Kansas City a couple years later, I was so amazed at the level of organization and the clean simplicity of his living space. It was an honor to have been a part of his journey toward living differently. The same is true of my friend Dave. When he first moved in to my house, I did not know if there would be any hope for him in this area of cleanliness. But one summer he decided to live differently, and he has not gone back. You walk into his and Liz’s home and it is simple, clean and well organized. I love the transformation. It’s like you catch the vision and the why behind it and say, wow… I can do this. I love this. The same is true of living wise with finances. Both Chad and Dave and Liz have walked the life of debt and they are also walking now in the life of freedom from the bondage and slavery of debt! They had to live frugal lives, knowing that the reward of that decision would be a life of freedom later on. And I know they would agree that it was worth the struggle in the short term.
Understanding that my actions are all spiritual acts is another important principle that I try to model. Is what I am doing encouraging me toward God or is it causing me to love the things of the world? Are my words helping to speak life to people or are they critical and discouraging? I want to be a reflection of integrity and sobriety. A life of service is a joy. It truly is. My work is my worship. This is a serious thing for me. It’s not something I take lightly or flippantly. I don’t dread Mondays, and I don’t wait on the edge of my seat for Fridays. This is because The Lord has put this call to service very deeply inside of me and has given me the desire to walk it out… With joy!
So my prayer is that those young people who come into my life to speak to will somehow catch some of this stuff… And I pray that The Lord would continue revealing himself to me and continually pushing me to know His heart more. I don’t want to ever feel like I have arrived… Always learning, always seeking more of Him.