Top Five
Several nights each week, we hold a study session with our four
boys. During one of our beginning study nights, I began
discussing the different areas of life and their importance.
Kids, just like adults, have a tendency to prioritize things
based on what modern culture emphasizes. So I thought that I
would go over things in their proper priority to start with.
We first defined the areas. They helped to determine them.
Then, we went over them in the order of their importance.
They also helped to determine that.
These are the five areas of life:
1. Spirit
Defined as the nine fruits of the spirit in Galatians 5:22.
They are: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Not religion, but "spirit" is what we discussed. We are Christian
but there are over 40,000 different denominations of Christianity.
Many of which are mutually exclusive meaning they state that
they are right and everyone else is wrong and going to hell.
And that's just Christianity.
Just because you are a particular religion does not mean that
you are fulfilled in life.
The divorce rate, illness rate, and even suicide rates are in
many cases higher. For example, suicide is higher among those
whom practice Christianity and Islam (both which strongly
prohibit suicide) than those whom practice Hinduism and Buddhism.
The vast majority of people whom I associate with are Christian,
yet the joy and fulfillment runs from fulfilled lives to miserable
lives. I've traveled the world and visited both wealthy industrial
nations and extremely poor nations. The poorer nations appear to
be happier as long as they are not starving.
Thus, "spirit", not circumstances, was the first of the five.
With the right spirit, even prison can be a paradise.
With the wrong spirit, you will be unsatisfied even in heaven.
Ask the third of the angels who were cast out of heaven.
2. Health
It is difficult to enjoy anything if you are sick, in pain or
debilitated. Health is your most valuable material possession.
My company focuses on health at TheWoman.com and the
church at Do42.com and RinGOMaXX.com.
My father used to tell me that many people spent all of their
health to get money and then had to spend all of their money
trying to get their health back. The problem is, you often can't
buy your health back at any price once it is lost.
If you feel great and realize the blessing of that feeling, you
can handle a lot. We think cars, houses, clothes, jewelry, money
and other material possessions are important. However, once you
lose your health, all of that is put on the back burner.
A man who has health has hope and a man who has hope has everything.
3. Relationships
"Success is nothing without someone you love to share it with."
That's a quote from the movie, 'Lady Sings The Blues'.
Man is not meant to be an isolated creature. Our health and
well-being depends on our interactions with others. God spoke to
me one morning, "A friend is more valuable than a fortune."
I have a deeper understanding of that now. It is relationships that
make life rich. Whether it's a bond of blood, marriage or just a
friend, two on one accord are far more powerful and happier than
one.
4. Money
Yes, it definitely does matter but not as much as Americans
think. The psychological studies have shown that once a person
earns $75,000.00 a year, there is no real appreciable difference
in happiness beyond that amount. Increasing money does not
increase happiness, but the lack of money can cause extreme woes.
I had the boys watch the movie, HAPPY, which detailed the
scientific studies and results of happiness. In a nutshell,
in the U.S., there is a huge difference in happiness between a
person who earns $5,000 a year and a person who earns $50,000 a
year.
At the $5,000 level, you usually cannot cover basic expenses and
you will usually live in constant lack of what we call the basics.
At $50,000 annually, you are concerned about luxuries but you
will generally have the basics.
Many people will understand the happiness difference (in the U.S.)
between a $5,000 and $50,000 salary. What most don't realize is
what else the studies found.
There is basically no difference in happiness between a person
who earns $50,000 a year and one who earns 50 million a year.
It is the illusion of riches and the mistaken belief that it
will bring joy. It won't.
The movie, HAPPY, stated that the happiness level of a rickshaw
driver in India was about the same as the average American, yet
the income level is a huge difference.
I remember sitting in a hotel restaurant in The Gambia,
a relatively economically poor country in Africa. All of the
other guests were European and the hotel was a rather expensive
hotel. I watched the guests and the servers. I watched the
servers even as they went out of sight of the guests.
I saw a marked difference in the facial expressions.
ALL of the guests had worried frowns on their faces.
ALL of the servers had what seemed to be genuine smiles of joy
on their faces. I have seen this echoed in many countries where
I have traveled and have become convinced of the truth of what
science and the Bible says.
Money absolutely does not buy happiness.
In the words of Jesus, "and the cares of this world, the
deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things
entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful."
(Mark 4:19).
5. Knowledge
Why did we place knowledge below money?
We grouped formal education and life experience in the knowledge
category. I've also found that just because you are educated
does not mean in any form that you have the other four things in
order. Just because you've had a lot of experience doesn't mean
that you have the other four things in good shape and order
either. True higher level knowledge affects the other four
things but knowing something doesn't equate to having knowledge.
It only means that you are aware and knowledge without following
the knowledge does little good. It may even be better if you were
ignorant than to have knowledge but not follow or use it.
These are the areas that our family determined are the five areas
that you should have in proper perspective.
You may disagree with the order of these five.
That's fine if you do.
It's your life.
It's your family's life.
It's their future.
Whether it's these five or others, get things in a proper order
while it's still time and while the consequences of disorder
aren't so high.
That's the spirit!
