A Well-Tuned Life Part 1 Intro
Tuesday True Tale #151
A few days ago, I was tuning my guitar with an electronic tuner. It's the one that clips to your guitar and reads "E" when you pick the sixth string if it's in tune; if not, you have to tighten or loosen the tuning pegs on the head until the string gets in tune. Unless you are accustomed to doing this, you might get into trouble, as I did. I made a rookie mistake because, well, I'm a rookie. As I plucked the E string, the tuner read that I was flat, so I tightened it more. Each time I tightened the tuning peg, the tuner dial showed no corresponding change. This continued until a loud "twang" startled me, and the 4th guitar string whipped past my face. I had been tightening the wrong string without knowing or looking. I was looking for results in one area while attending to another.
We need balance in our soul care— proper attention to the right area at the right time. We need to be well-tuned for a productive life. Maybe it is a stretch, but we're a little like a set of guitar strings. We have six distinctives: mind, body, heart, emotions, spirit, and purpose. All must function correctly to "make music" in our lives. Our life sounds better when everything is strong, tuned correctly, and well-adjusted, but we must tune the right "string."
1. Mind - What and how do you think? Is it pure and productive, humble and gracious?
2. Body - Do you take care of yourself? Is your lifestyle irresponsible?
3. Heart - Can you trust God in all things? How do you keep your heart joyful and content?
4. Emotions - Can you control your anger, bitterness, anxiety, pride, fear, joy and contentment?
5. Spirit - Not the Holy Spirit; your spirit represents your current relationship with Christ.
6. Purpose - What is your overall and individual purpose as a redeemed child of God?
Here's the problem. We may focus on the wrong distinctive when something seems out of tune. Some are easier to adjust than others. Our physical condition (body) affects our emotions, and our emotions affect how we think (mind); how we think affects our heart, and an out-of-tune heart can weaken our sense of purpose. Each one of us differs in which distinctive is stronger or dominates. You may be able to look at the chart above and know (or think you know) immediately which distinctive is dominant. But for all of us, each of the six impacts the other, either weakening or strengthening it.
We must care for each of these without overemphasizing (idolizing) them. Balance is important. These six things should receive equal attention—awareness of how healthy or unhealthy each is is essential so we can treat them. If you struggle to find purpose in life, going to the gym will have no lasting impact. If your heart or spirit is struggling to remain joyful, you may feed them temporarily helpful things, but it may be your mind and thought process that needs to be tuned. Focus on a healthier, biblical mindset, and your heart and spirit will respond.
Over the following three Tuesdays, I will write about how we can tune our six distinctives and improve the balance of our lives. It is a complex web of cause and effect that impacts the quality of life and our everyday walk with Christ. There are countless stumbling blocks to maintaining a well-tuned life. How we care for these areas is reflected in every decision we make.
Take steps for a balanced life that puts God first. Proverbs 4:26: Watch the path of your feet. And all your ways will be established. The Lord will care for every aspect of our life when we seek His Kingdom first. We must be acutely aware of the tension we are putting on neglected areas we think we are fixing. We don't want stress to cause anything to snap like my "D" string!
Meditation Point
The six distinctives would influence your life equally in a perfectly balanced life, but that is rarely the case. In my very unscientific survey below, please rate your six distinctives 1 through 6, 1 being what you believe most influences your life today, and 6 being the least influential.
_____ Mind _____ Body _____ Heart _____ Emotions _____ Spirit_____ Purpose
Please tell me (comment below) what you chose for your #1 and #6. Here's mine: Heart is #1, and Emotions are #6. Remember, other subscribers can view your comments.