As our society grows more and more complex, our ability to juggle it all deteriorates. We make choices as to which activity, passion, or pursuit we’ll entertain with our attention. And in the midst of this, we often push our faith to the margins of our life—to become something we do on the side, when we’re not focusing on our career or taking care of our family.
The danger of today is that in this excess of choice, we’ll choose everything and let the things that matter drown in our flooded schedules.
This is what has happened to many of us. We’ve let our faith become a Sunday thing, not a 24/7 thing.
Of course, I speak this from experience. There were times when I was overwhelmed with zeal and passion for ministry, and then other times when I struggled to do my devotionals. I still struggle with living faith out every day, especially amidst my heavy entrepreneurial schedule. But in bearing the dissatisfaction of a complacent faith, I forced myself to adopt new habits—habits that would allow me to bring my faith to the center of things again.
They are habits I learned from watching others and following their example. Now I’ve put a vocabulary to what they did differently. Consider these few habits, and learn from their example as well:
1. They have restorative times built into their days.
A pastor I know is an introvert, but with his job, he can easily be with people all day. He knows what he needs for his wellbeing is times in which he is quiet and still—but not times in which he is doing nothing. In this time, he is consuming God’s wisdom and taking the time to let something higher influence his actions.
This is what we all need for a healthy faith. In a time where messages are always being thrown at us, we need the space and quiet to let the right thing speak to us. It’s how we oil the gears of our faith so it can operate daily.
2. They don’t see service to others as a special, designated time.
Bob Goff, the author of Love Does, never saw love as something to schedule. He was always acting on his love in whimsical, daily ways. But today, we often designate this kind of service as something special or unique. In our small groups, we set aside time where we work in the soup kitchen. We designate blocked off times to do an act of love. And then we return to not practicing it daily.
We can’t make this distinction with service any longer. Christians are meant to exude this serving love every day, and the more we entertain this perspective of service being something special we do, the more we divorce it from our daily lives.
Love should not be something we schedule. Love should be a reflex.
3. They consider character, when everyone else considers outcome.
Christianity gives us an awareness of our internal matters. It allows us to not be blind to how certain decisions affect our heart. But most of the times, we can only be focused on our external success, and how outcomes can make us profitable or not. We can entirely ignore character if we’re not careful.
The people who live out their faith daily always keep an eye on their character. They never wholly follow a decision that leads to a profitable, external outcome. They weigh the heart behind the matters.
So next time, don’t silence the voice that begs you to consider character in a situation. Instead, amplify it.
4. They cultivate and sharpen community in all contexts.
I have a friend who intentionally creates community everywhere—even at the job he hates. He’s not concerned about whether or not he can be friends with certain people. He simply gives all people around him the space to be themselves—and that creates, sustains, and sharpens community.
Creating community is about adding value to people’s lives. It recognizes that people are not to be used but loved.
A person who lives out their faith every day is involved in the messy work of creating community because they believe people are in their lives for a godly purpose—not to be wasted for a quick flash of entertainment.
5. They honor their roles to the best of their abilities.
I had a friend once have me list out all my roles in life. It was hard for me to think through at first, but he seemed to be able to do it easily. This ease was the result of him constantly being aware of his roles and how he served in them—how he loved as a husband, how he served as an employee, and how he cared as a father.
Oftentimes, we can be blind to our roles. But Jesus calls us to glorify Him in these roles. That means choosing to be excellent in our roles. We can’t let them slip by unnoticed any longer.
6. They see the significance in small moments.
Another friend named Bill will not miss the opportunity to chat with the person bagging his groceries about Jesus. He’s aware that small, mundane things can have extraordinary significance. This shift in perspective is honestly difficult for me to maintain. I can’t see every day things as being bigger than what they are. Instead, I think that in order to serve God, I have to fly to a foreign country and play with kids less fortunate.
Bill doesn’t see it that way. Bill sees opportunities to serve God in the small things. And maybe, that’s what Jesus meant when He said to be faithful in the little things (Luke 16:10).
7. They suffer in godly ways.
Gentry and Hadley Eddings were driving home from a wedding when a truck crashed into their car, killing their toddler and unborn baby. When the world expected them to shatter in their pain, they transformed their pain into pulpit. They gave the donations given to them to Mission of Hope Haiti, while also forgiving the truck driver.
You see, they didn’t trumpet their pain for pity. Instead, they picked up the pieces and gave a beautiful picture of Christ’s love to the world.
It’s possible to not completely break in your pain. It’s possible to give back in the times you feel that daily ache and pain. But to do so requires that you see the redemption possible in the greatest pain. That’s what Christianity is all about—redemption.
8. They talk about spirituality.
And finally, all these people I know talk about their faith openly. Today, we can be concerned about offending someone or making them feel uncomfortable, but really, that’s our fear speaking louder than our love. We talk about the things we truly love, and if we’re too scared to speak about our faith with those around us, we’ll never let it surface in our daily lives.
To sum it all up, the 8 habits I’ve observed of people who live out their faith every day are that they:
- 1. Carve out restorative times.
- 2. Make love a reflex, not a blocked off time.
- 3. Consider character.
- 4. Cultivate community.
- 5. Honor roles.
- 6. Cherish the little things.
- 7. Suffer in godly ways.
- 8. Talk about spirituality.
Faith was never meant to be something we entertain on Sundays. It is to be exercised everyday.
So as our society grows increasingly more complex, solidify the things that matter. In the toppling waves of busy seasons, make your faith stand apart. Live it out every day—as it’s supposed to be.
What are some habits you could be working on to prioritize your faith in daily life? Talk about it in the Comments section below!
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