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Do you feel like you are living life on the edge? We look at key values that help you to live a successful life living on the edge. These values are found in the book Life on the Edge by Dr. James Dobson. What has been lost by many today is our values; what is valuable to us. In his book, Dr. Dobson helps us to discover these values so that we can live life to the fullest and live successfully. The book is filled with wisdom, and he writes that the most important decade of one’s life is age 15-25. Whatever decisions made during this decade will affect you for the rest of your life! We all face many decisions in our lives, but this decade in our lives in particular face tougher decisions. We encourage you to grab hold of this wisdom and carry it out in your life, so you can be successful! Greg also has a book for you with ten strategies for success. He shares wisdom on the importance of values in our lives as one of the strategies. You can get your free book I Will Fight HERE!
The first value Dr. Dobson wrote is the most important value for us to have.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33 ESV
So often people will seek everything except the Kingdom of God and miss out on what is most important, but if God is your priority, He will meet all your needs. He wants you to succeed in life, and to do that you must seek God first. We take the time to seek God first by abiding with Him daily by reading His Word and spending time with Him, and you can do the same. If you need a plan on how to spend time with God, you can get your free plan HERE at iAbide.
The second value Dr. Dobson wrote is that the universe and everything in it will someday pass away and be made new by the Creator. Therefore, the events of today that seem so important are not really very significant, except those matters that will survive the end of the universe (such as securing your own salvation and doing the work of the Lord). Greg shares how he has been by many death beds throughout his life and career as a police officer. People facing death would say they only had two regrets. They wished they would have done more for their family because they are about to leave them and that they wish they would have done more for God because they are about to see Him. We should want to be able to live a life that is meaningful beyond this present life because once it is over, our life is finished. But if you are reading this, you are alive and can make the changes in your life to live to the fullest for the Lord and for others.
The third value shared is how to be successful in life. Treat every person as you want to be treated; look for ways to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs around you. Suppress your desire to be selfish and to seek unfair advantage over others. Try to turn every encounter with another person into a new or stronger friendship. Then when this confidence with people is combined with hard work, your future success is assured. If you want to be successful, help other people to become successful! You will find that as you help others, success will follow you.
The fourth value is about comparing ourselves to others. Comparison is the root of all feelings of inferiority. The moment you begin examining other people’s strengths against your most obvious weakness, your self-esteem starts to crumble. This would mean that social media is the biggest enemy of someone’s self-esteem if you compare your life to what others have posted. Many people have low self-esteem because they have their eyes on other people. In this case, you must get your eyes off other people and get your eyes on the Lord. The Bible even talks about how comparison is not wise.
“We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.” 2 Corinthians 10:12 NIV
We all have failings, challenges, and shortcomings. God is the one who moves in our lives. Just be who you are and who God created you to be. We are all unique! There is only one you, so be you!
The fifth value Dr. Dobson shares is that as a general rule, don’t risk what you can’t afford to lose. We can’t live life frivolously. We can take time to appreciate the things that we do have in life! Whereas many don’t appreciate what they have until they lose it. Treat the people you have in your life with value.
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:40 NIV
How we treat others is how we are treating Jesus.
The sixth value is about difficult times that we face. If you’re going through difficult times today, hold steady. It will change soon. If you are experiencing smooth sailing and easy times now, brace yourself. It will change soon. The only thing you can be certain of is change. Hang in there because the hard times will pass, they will not last forever! Nothing lasts forever other than eternity. Sometimes you just have to wait it out and Pastor John Kilpatrick, with Church of His Presence, shared that the Lord spoke to him about attacks that he faced. The Lord said to him, “Every attack that you go through has a shelf life. Every attack that the devil brings against you is not open-ended; it will not last forever. It has a shelf life, and when that shelf life is up, times up, things are going to change and start evolving for the better.” Life is filled with challenges, but we can seek God in the trials because He can redeem the hard times we face. Have you gone through a season in your life that you feel that wouldn’t end? We want to hear from you about that season and how you made it through.
The seventh value shared is concerning marriage. Don’t marry someone with intolerable characteristics in the hopes of changing him or her. If you can’t live with someone who drinks or someone who isn’t a Christian/Godly Person or someone who isn’t clean, then don’t marry that kind of person. The chances of miraculous improvements or changes in behaviors are slim. What you see is what you get! If something bothers you before you are married, it will bother you even more after you are married. Don’t get in a marriage with someone that is doing things that you don’t like because you will end up not liking them, possibly hating them!
The eighth value is about loneliness. Most loneliness results from insulation rather than isolation. In other words, we are lonely because we insulate ourselves, not because others isolate us. Many things in life now are insulating us from others, but it is important to have face to face conversations and relationships to stay away from loneliness. Life doesn’t just happen; we must get involved in life! We must push past what everyone else is doing and fight for authentic relationships.
How have these values impacted your life? Now that you know them, how will you apply these values to your life? We want to hear from you. Write to us at [email protected]. Greg and John shared in this segment.
Image courtesy of Storyblocks.com
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