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Lenten Focus
Rule of Life
Who stops to ask the simple question of what the well-lived life looks like? How do you determine what deserves your best time? Your most focused attention? Your life's energy?
A rule of life is a pattern of practices or activities that forms the shape of your life. Everyone has one, but not every rule of life is by intentional design.
A rule of life is a cross between a time management strategy and a life plan that has Christ at its center. The concept will be new to some. It comes from the monastic tradition.
The best-known and most revered rule is the Rule of St. Benedict. It was written by a man whose character attracted people who sought his wisdom and guidance. His "rule" became the foundation of the monastic tradition.
Time management was actually the invention of this tradition. Rooted in Benedict's rule, the monastic commitment to a regular cycle of work and prayer drove the development of the modern clock in Europe. Clocks provided the "regula" (the Latin word for rule) that called the monks to prayer.
Contrast this with modern time management strategies that help you make every minute out of every hour as efficient as possible. They aim to squeeze more and more work out of the day. The Benedictine rule organized work around prayer. The goal was industry without loss of perspective. Prayer kept the monastic community focused on what was most important.
A rule of life provides a framework that assures the spiritual component of one's life is not lost in the rush and hurry of the workday. It encourages a more intentional approach to spiritual formation. Centered on a discipline of worship and prayer, acknowledging the priority of God in all things, it includes all aspects of life. A life well-lived, after all, manifests God's glory in the world.
It has become increasingly difficult to identify what a well-lived life looks like. In Take Back Your Time: Fighting Time Poverty and Overwork in America, Harvard sociologist Juliet Schor reports that, compared to 1973, the average American worker in 2000 worked five additional weeks a year. If you are average, you somehow managed to cram 57 weeks of work into a 52-week year compared to the work your father and mother did.
Researchers say that Americans see 1,500 commercial messages every day. A child growing up in America is a target of $3 billion worth of advertisements each year. Clearly, if you do not invest the time to develop your own rule of life, others are more than happy to do it for you.
A Rule of Life is a set of spiritual disciplines. It draws on the tradition as it transmits the wisdom of spiritual masters, and yet it only works when it fits your unique situation in life. A rule of life of a working mother with three children will look very different than a rule of life for a young single man beginning his career. And yet there will also be many similarities.
Each will have to address a number of questions all people have in common:
- How will I nurture my personal faith through prayer and bible study?
- How will I discipline my time, being careful to acknowledge the priority of God in all things?
- How will I develop a group of faithful friends who will pray for me and support me, and who I can support?
- How will I discipline my relationship to money to guard against money dependency and money idolatry?
- How will I discover and live out my unique vocation drawing on the spiritual gifts and talents God has given me to fulfill my role in the Kingdom of God and in the world?
- How will I reach out to others in Jesus' name, sharing his grace and love with others?
This season of Lent we invite you to take responsibility for the life you are called to live. We invite you join us as we sit down and prayerfully consider each of our own life's priorities in light of God's purposes. We invite you to draw on the wisdom of others to design a rule of life that will lead to a life of wholeness of grace.
The quality of your life depends upon the quality of your commitments. Are you committed to the highest good? Or are you willing to settle for something less? Without a rule of life that you have been careful to design through thoughtful prayer, you will live a life determined for you by others.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Rule of Life
Rule of Life Class and Workbook
Monthly Focus Archive
2006:
Easter Focus: New Covenant
Lenten Focus: A Covenantal Response to Poverty
February Focus: Moving Forward
2005:
December Focus: Longing
November Focus: The Gift of Years
October Focus: Stewardship
September Focus: Foundations
Summer Focus: The Book of Acts
Easter Focus: Tapestry
Lenten Focus: Rule of Life
January Focus: The Next Wave
2004:
December Focus: Surprising Grace
November Focus: Free Indeed
October Focus: Money Madness
September Focus: The Outrageous Promise
Summer Focus: Into the Fullness
June Focus: Thick Faith
Easter Focus: All Things New
Lent Focus: A Hungry World
February Focus: Commitment
January Focus: Unity
2003:
December Focus: Hope
November Focus: Worship
October Focus: Stewardship
September Focus: Seasons of Faith
Summer Focus: The Gospel of John
May Focus: Faith
April Focus: Resurrection
March Focus: Truth
February Focus: Covenant Groups
January Focus: Sabbath
2002:
December Focus: Shut Up and Sing
November Focus: Spiritual Gifts
October Focus: Stewardship
September Focus: Intentional Faith
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