Now I will admit that right now as of today I can say that God is ever increasingly becoming my center. Had you asked me last year my answer would have been God but I would have been oh so wrong. As I realized from reading the book that my center was self and friends.
"Each of us has a center, though we usually don't recognize it as such." Many people are one of the following:
- Spouse-centered
- Family centered
- Money centered
- Work centered
- Possession centered
- Pleasure centered
- Friend/Enemy centered
- Church centered
- Self centered
None of these are the correct center for anyone to choose. However, many of us have chosen one or more of the above unknowingly. "By centering our lives on correct principles, we create a solid foundation for development of the four life support factors (security, guidance, wisdom, and power). Reading this as a believer the light bulb immediately went off in my head that my correct principle that should be the center is GOD!
While I will not break down the description of all the centers, feel free if you are interested to purchase the book and read it for yourself. I will share an excerpt from the book as an example.
"Suppose tonight you have invited your spouse to go to a concert. You have the tickets; your spouse is excited about going. It's four o'clock in the afternoon.
All of a sudden, your boss calls you into his office and says he needs your help through the evening to get ready for an important meeting at 9 a.m. tomorrow.
If you're looking through spouse-centered or family-centered glasses, your main concern will be your wife. You may tell the boss you can't stay and you take your spouse to the concert in an effort to please him/her. You may feel you have to stay to protect your job, but you'll do so grudgingly, anxious about your spouses response, trying to justify your decision and protect yourself from your spouses disappointment or anger.
If you're looking through a money-centered lens, your main thought will be the overtime you'll get or the influence working late will have on a potential raise. You may call your spouse and simply tell him/her you have to stay, assuming (s)he'll understand that economic demands come first.
If you're possession-centered, you might be thinking of the things the overtime income could buy. Or you might consider when an asset to your reputation at the office it would be if you stayed. Everyone would hear tomorrow how noble, how sacrificing and dedicated you are.
If you're pleasure-centered, you'll probably can the work and go to the concert, even if your spouse would be happy for you to work late. Your deserve a night!
If you're friend-centered, your decision would be influence by whether or not you had invited friends to attend the concert with you. Or whether your friends at work were going to stay late, too.
If you're enemy centered, you may stay late because you know it will give you a big edge over that person in the office who thinks he's the company's greatest asset. While he's off having fun, you'll be working and slaving, doing his work and yours, sacrificing your personal pleasure for the good of the company he can so blithely ignore.
If you're church-centered, you might be influenced by plans other church members have to attend the concert, by whether or not any church members work at your office, or by the nature of the concert - Handel's Messiah might rate higher priority than a rock concert. Your decision might also be affected by what you think a "good church member" would do and by whether you view the extra work as "service' or "seeking after material wealth."
If you're self-centered, you'll be focused on what will do you the most good. Would it be better for you to go out for the evening? Or would it be better for you to make a few points with the boss? How the different options affect you will be your main concern."
"As a principle-centered person, will stand apart from the emotion of the situation and from other factors that would act on you, and evaluate the options. Looking at the balanced whole 0f the work needs, the family needs, other needs that may be involved and the possible implications of the various alternative decisions - you'll try to come up with the best solutions, taking all factors into consideration."
"As a principle-centered person, you see things differently. And because you see things differently, you think differently, you act differently. Because you have a high degree of security, guidance, wisdom, and power that flows from a solid, unchanging core, you have the foundation of a highly proactive and highly effect life."
As I was writing this I realized that based on the situation our centers may differ. We may waiver from center to center above. Nevertheless for success in life and a peaceful life all decisions should be based on our principle-center. I have chosen my principle-center to be God.
Again, I ask you What's At Your Center?
Be a blessing and be blessed,
Epiphany Essentials
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