Rule of Life

Creating a personal lifestyle plan

(Click the arrow to listen)
Introduction
In our breakfast group we explored the importance of developing good Christian habits. Habits are actions that become engrained and then a natural part of life because of repetition. They become things we do without having to especially think about them. We also no doubt have bad habits which we may not be aware of, until we are shocked when someone points them out to us. The Christian habits we shall look at together are rooted in the Holy Spirit. This makes developing them more difficult because we shall encounter spiritual warfare as we engage in this exercise.

There is psychological evidence to confirm that repetition can result in permanent habit change. I was told that if I practised a daily habit for around 3 weeks (although this is disputed) it would become easier, and then unconsciously practised. I spent 15 minutes every day learning to touch-type, and within a month I could type without looking at the keyboard. The habit remains to this day; as do others like being able to swim, or even reversing a trailer which I could still do after 35 years.

Rule

This principle of developing good habits has been a traditional Christian view for centuries. Perhaps its best illustration is in the Rule of Life which was developed by the monastic traditions. The Rule of Benedict is a famous one. In Britain there is a short-term Monastic Order based around St Anselm. They have developed a rule which you can view here if you wish. A Rule is a means of encouragement to develop good spiritual habits. It should not become a stick with which to beat yourself when you struggle. It is a guiding hand to keep your vision set in the right direction.

The aim of this series is to create our own personal “Rule of Life”. It will comprise 7 basic common rules, and then invite you to add 3 more which are specifically tailored to your own needs or development. As this website is designed for anyone seeking to know Jesus more, it will not have a church or denominational focus. If you would like to make church commitments one of your rules, of course, you can do that.

(the 10 rules are listed on the side of the screen on laptops, or here below on mobiles: click on each to open it)