“God’s kingdom isn’t a matter of what you put in your stomach, for goodness’ sake. It’s what God does with your life as he sets it right, puts it together, and completes it with joy.” – Romans 14:17
The whole world seems to be topsy-turvy what with rampant corruption, indiscipline, greed, ego trips, an intolerable wealth divide and the lack of respect for life, law and property. This impacts significantly on the achievement of the purpose of life which is to create joy and the avoidance of pain for yourself and the people around you. There is a serious imbalance and the leadership needs to redress this and restore society to a position of order. It will take time, but the longest journey begins with the first step.
At the core of society is the individual so that is where we have to start and restore holistic balance. Where there is imbalance, corrective action at the individual level will redound to the benefit of the country as a whole.
Individuals are influenced by the family, school, community, church, sport and work environments. It helps therefore if messages to restore balance are consistently sent to individuals while interacting in these societal environments. The nation’s leadership for me is defined as a public private partnership and representatives from this collective partnership must interact with each of the elements in the societal environment in an attempt to send the same message. It cannot be left to chance in the hope that the message will be received.
The message has several components:
(1) Far too many individuals are in spiritual imbalance. My message is for individuals to adopt a Spiritual Focus embracing positive belief systems such as ambition, self-confidence, good relationships and security (family and friends) and repelling negative influences such as hate, anger, fear, worry and guilt.
(2) Far too many individuals are overweight or have a poor performing immune system. My message is for individuals to practise Physical Fitness, embracing good nutrition (well balanced diets and the avoidance of substance abuse), sleep (eight hours a day), aerobic exercise (30 minutes per day, 5 days per week), touch (plenty hugs and kisses), and peace of mind (absence of mental stress).
(3) Far too many individuals are operating with a low Intelligence Quotient. My message is for individuals to strive for increased Mental Agility, embracing remedial and continuing education through reading, formal education, travel or Internet-related opportunities.
(4) Far too many individuals are emotionally mixed up. My message is for individuals to strive for increased Emotional Intelligence, embracing love and learning to perceive, control and evaluate emotions.
(5) Many individuals pursue self employment as public and private employers lay off staff in the interest of operational efficiency. My message is that opportunities abound for start-up entrepreneurs and that shepherding assistance should be embraced to increase Business Acumen and clear obstacles along the journey to business success.
(6) Many individuals have difficulty making ends meet. My message is for individuals to focus on all ways that they can use some of their God-given 16 hours per day (after allocating eight hours for sleep) to work hard (as an entrepreneur or employee or a combination of the two), convert that time to Financial Strength by using it productively, and to contain costs so that surpluses will be generated, investments made and financial wealth created.
Let us continually ask God to guide us in achieving holistic balance, so that each and every one of us may contribute to the restoration of this dysfunctional world. When we have successfully contributed, we would have killed two birds with one stone: pleasing our Father above and restoring balance in a chaotic world.
(Dr. Basil Springer GCM is Change-Engine Consultant, Caribbean Business Enterprise Trust Inc. – CBET. His email address is basilgf57@gmail.com and his columns may be found at www.cbetmodel.org and www.nothingbeatsbusiness.com.)