October 2007

How much does it cost to live rich?

That depends on what living rich means to you.

Anybody can afford to live rich, but you have to know what your target is first. We are told that living rich is having a huge house and driving a new BMW, but the key to living richly is to stop trying to keep up with the Joneses. Stop listening to what ‘they’ tell you need to be happy and listen to yourself.

What would your life look like if you were living richly?

I would have a few good friends and a wonderful husband who loves me. I would live in a house in the country surrounded by blue skies and lots of fresh air. I would end each day with a cup of hot tea and a snuggle with that wonderful husband. I would invite guests over to my house. My house would feel as peaceful as a bed and breakfast–a reatreat from the world. I would go camping and hiking more. I would have fresh flowers on my table.

My rich life is a lot different than a huge house and a BMW in the driveway. When I look at the things I value, the size of my house or the make of my car, don’t even register on the scale.

What is important to you? What do you value?

Once you have defined what you really value, you should start spending your money and your life on the things you value. It sounds so simple, but putting your energy towards what you value is the key to living rich.

We all have things we have to do, whether we want to or not. Most people have to go to work to earn a pay check, but do you have to work all those overtime hours? You have to buy clothes, but most people in America have way more clothes than they need. You probably have to do some cleaning around the house, but you could also involve your family so that it is bonding time rather than cleaning drudgery.

The philosophy of living richly is to think outside the box. Stop pursuing someone else’s dream, stop living someone else’s life, and reach out to grab your own happiness.

You may have to make sacrifices, to get to your rich life. I don’t have my house in the country. Right now, I am living right in the middle of town, but I am renting the smallest, cheapest apartment I can find so that I can buy that house in the country soon. That one sacrifice doesn’t keep me from pursuing a rich life. I have dear friends and a wonderful husband. I can go camping and backpacking in my free time. I can reach out and grab my rich life, and I can sacrifice for it.

What is keeping you from a rich life? Are you willing to sacrifice to live the life you dream of?

photo: Marc van der Chijs under CC-BY-ND

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Are you steady? When you put your mind to doing something do you keep on doing it until you get it done? If you decide to do something daily, how long before your resolutions fall to the side?

What are the habits you want to develop? Dieting? Exercising regularly? Keeping your house clean? Maybe you want to stop complaining and start praising others (Yes, complaining is a habit too)? Gossiping is a nasty, ugly, vicious habit.

Bad habits are like chains around your neck, that keep you from achieving God’s best. When you accept those habits as “just who I am,” you are accepting defeat. You are letting bad habits keep you from God’s best for your life. Those bad habits are holding you into a mediocre life.

For me, I can be consistent for about 2 weeks, and then everything falls apart. With every failure, I have to fight myself yet again. I have to decide, against what is easy, to keep fighting, clawing tooth and nail, towards what I know is good.

Developing a habit, instituting a new habit, is only 20% head knowledge, and 80% action. Diet books are so successful, not because we don’t know how to eat but because we need an action plan.

Success, living out good habits consistently, requires overcoming yourself, your bad habits, and feeding the good habits that lead you towards excellence.

Can God use me if I cannot keep my house clean? Certainly! And I know that He is using me while I am learning to be organized. At the same time, I know that being organized will free me up to pursue ministry in other areas.

God can continue to use you while you struggle with overcoming these bad habits, but these habits hold you back from living the best life that God has for you.

Bad habits are easy to develop, but hard to live with. Good habits are difficult to develop, but easy to live with. Anything worthwhile, is worth struggling over. Anything worthwhile is worth continuing on until you have achieved success.

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