In All Things Charity

For the last two weeks we have been thinking about a phrase I have heard most of my life:

In Essentials Unity, in Non-Essentials Liberty, In All Things Charity

We've taken some time to discern each of the first two phrases, considering how short the list of Essentials usually is, and how embracing Liberty can help us better face the complexity of life. This week we'll ponder the final phrase.

In All Things Charity

In our current world we often think of Charity as a noun, like an organization we give a donation. But in this circumstance (if my high school English isn't failing me!) it's used as an adverb, like how we want to act toward someone or in a situation. Perhaps another way we might say it would be, "In All Thing, Act With Generosity."

There are so many places we can apply this in our lives.  Let's start centrally and work our way outward.

First, how could I act with Charity toward myself? What kind of self-talk am I using, or when was the last time I took some time for some rest and recharge? How could I act with generosity toward myself?

Next, who are the people that are closest to me and what would it look like if I approached them from a place of generous assumption? What might the impact be if I trusted they are really for me, and I leaned into that love and support?

Continuing to move outward, who are the people I see on a regular basis as I go about my life - coworkers, customer service workers, other friends or family members? If I did my best to engage with them from a place of Charity, how might our interactions be impacted for both them and for me?

Finally, as I consider the larger world, things like government leaders or political parties, organizations or various people groups, even countries and nations, while my actions toward them might not have too significant of an impact (but not none - for example, we should still vote!), by acting with Charity and generosity, I am significantly impacted. If I act toward them with anger and hostility, that can eat me up from the inside out, but when I approach with Charity, my inner life is freer and less tight and restrictive.

Out of all these layers, which one resonates the most with you today? If you were to focus on acting with Charity in that area, what would that practically look like and how could you put that into action this week? In what ways could you make an adjustment so your starting point in All Things might be generous and more charitable?

Here's to acting with Charity in All Things this week!

Be Well,

Stephen

Center was created to support individuals and teams so they can live from their Purposeful Center.  We specialize in professional coaching and leadership development and we’d love to support you!  Click on our Services page to book a free consultation.

In Non-Essentials Liberty

Last week we started a small series of messages around a phrase I have heard almost my whole life:

In Essentials Unity, In Non-Essentials Liberty, In All Things Charity.

In that first installment we analyzed the opening phrase regarding Unity in Essentials.  Today I want to focus on the second phrase.

In Non-Essentials Liberty

Liberty is an interesting word that we don't hear in regular conversation too much unless it's a call to protect our liberties, where it is mostly used as a noun. But in this context, it's an adjective used to describe our approach toward Non-Essentials. In other words, when we are considering what doesn't fit in the Essentials category (the Non-Essentials), then we want to approach those items with some extra freedom and a loose grip. The intent is to create some "room to roam" within certain contexts and categories.

As an example, let's look back at one of our illustrations from last week.  I wrote, "What is essential for a loving relationship? Mutual respect, commitment, a desire to serve. What else?" The list of essentials in a healthy, loving relationship is a pretty short list. However, there are a lot of things on the Non-Essentials list when it comes to relationships: hair, height, sense of humor, eye color, favorite movie, food likes, etc., etc., etc.  The list is actually pretty extensive, which creates a lot of room for personal preference. Thankfully we apply Liberty to the Non-Essentials in relationships which allows us to have significant diversity in what a relationship looks like. 

This is one of the things I really appreciate about this phrase, because Liberty in Non-Essentials allows for the depth of complexity that exists in our world. It helps us to embrace diversity as a gift. It allows us to be able to find some common ground while also creating room for healthy disagreement and conflict to exist.  The truth is, if we all had to think or act in the exact same way, the world would be a pretty boring place.

But here's the thing, much of the time we try and push too many things that are in the Non-Essential category where we should be embracing Liberty, and we move them into the Essential space where we demand unity and conformity. We keep expanding what should be a short list of Essentials by adding more and more things from the Non-Essential categories, and in the process we want everyone to think and act just like we do, instead of appreciating our differences where various perspectives can actually help us all be better.

Where are the places in life where you are tempted to push things from the Non-Essential categories into the Essentials list? How could you look at diversity and complexity as a gift and find room for Liberty in those spaces? Is there a person or perspective you have found frustrating, and you can now see that part of the reason for that frustration is you're expecting them to think or act in agreement with you? How could you use Liberty and curiosity to understand their perspective more? What do you think their perspective might even be able to teach you as you find Unity in (just!) Essentials with them, and then apply Liberty in the Non-Essentials?

Here's to living with Liberty in the Non-Essentials this week!  (Thankfully, it's a pretty big list!)

Be Well,

Stephen

Center was created to support individuals and teams so they can live from their Purposeful Center.  We specialize in professional coaching and leadership development and we’d love to support you!  Click on our Services page to book a free consultation.

In Essentials Unity

I've been thinking a lot recently about a phrase I've heard most of my life:

"In Essentials Unity, in Non-Essentials Liberty, In All Things Charity."

This phrase has been attributed to a number of people down through the centuries, including some speculation that Augustine of Hippo (354-430AD) may have been the first one to use it.  Most of the time I have heard this phrase used in the context of theological and spiritual frameworks, but I think it has much broader applications than that! I have too many thoughts about each of these layers to make them all fit into one message, so this will be the first of three messages, and we'll start with the first layer this week.

In Essentials Unity

When we think about what is actually essential, we quickly discover it's a short list!  For example, what is essential for life? Food, water, safety. Anything else? What is essential for a loving relationship? Mutual respect, commitment, a desire to serve. What else?

See what I mean? When we start thinking about what is actually essential, the list gets pretty small, pretty quick. These are the kind of things we see listed in documents like The Declaration of Independence or various Constitutions around the world. Essentials are the items in the mission statements of nonprofits and service organizations. They are the basic core realities of what define and shape us as a group, things we can all agree (Unity) are vital to our functionality, whether we are a family, a team, a religion, or a country. 

Whenever I meet with a new group to engage in group coaching or I am working with a team on developing their collaborative synergy, this is Essential work we must do - talk about the basics of what we agree will help to guide us.  For example, in a group coaching setting we will go through an exercise of setting our agreed upon ground rules for our time together (confidentiality, how we are going to manage discussion, time boundaries, etc.). These become our Essentials that help to Unite and guide us. By focusing and agreeing on these Essentials, we create the space for diving into areas that may require more wrestling and even disagreement (more on that next week). When we have Unity in Essentials, it creates a strong foundation from which we can work, collaborate, and create together.

As you think about the various groups and teams you are part of, what do you think are the Essentials for that group? How short could you make that list? What do you think the impact would be if you were able to name the Essentials together and be really clear about them? "This is the bottom line of what unites us together!" What would it take to also protect that short list and use it as a reminder for your ongoing work together?

Here's to finding Unity in Essentials this week!

Be Well,

Stephen

Center was created to support individuals and teams so they can live from their Purposeful Center.  We specialize in professional coaching and leadership development and we’d love to support you!  Click on our Services page to book a free consultation.