Mind the core (2)

Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. – Proverbs 4:23

If the core of our lives is the epicenter of our being, it behooves us to pay close attention to how we treat it. As we saw last week, our philosophy for living is found in what proceeds from the core or the ‘endosperm’ of our life. This affects our thoughts, emotions and the choices we make. Simply put, our core rules us!

If, as a sage has said, the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart, we must mind the core of our life to achieve maximum benefits from it. It begins with knowing the core. The greatest favour a man can do to himself is to have a sense of purpose that is rooted in a strong sense of identity. If you don’t know who you are, life will sell you another man’s identity and you will eagerly buy it. The tragedy is that from the moment you do, you begin to run another man’s race. The frustration of that experience will kill you faster than any physiological disease! The discomfort that comes with the knowledge that you only do certain things just to be like or please certain people will tug at you and literally tear you apart. This is what drives many into prostitution, drugs and criminality. A man who has discovered who he is does not need methamphetamines to feel hip. He is on a natural high that makes others sometimes feel that he is on steroids.

A deep-rooted comfort with the only you that could ever exist will fill you with confidence that puts a spring in your steps in a way that makes everyone around you wonder where your drive comes from.  This has nothing to do with material acquisition, visibility or popularity. No matter how rich, visible or popular you are, you will still have a sense of coming short of an elusive Eldorado if you are not comfortable with your identity. When self-esteem takes a plunge, fulfilment is the ultimate casualty.

Unfortunately, because we neglect our core, different factors and influences compete to define us. We allow ourselves to be defined by our background, experiences, failures or successes, the company we keep, popular media, the models and mentors that we have or whatever other influences we seek validation from. This quest for validation proceeds from a void that we feel within and which we seek to fill at every turn, leading to a distracted and distraught personality, constantly enmeshed in a rabid rat race that still ends up with the runner feeling like a rat. The reality of life is that whatever gives us a motive also supplies our motivation. The identity and purpose of anything derive from its maker.  This is why orange seeds never produce mangoes and vice versa. It is also the reason why a Mercedes Benz car functions differently from a Volvo even though they are both cars! If they both functioned exactly the same way, no one will prefer one to the other. Even if you hate to admit it, you did not self-create. Your identity and purpose are therefore wrapped up in the One who made you. It therefore naturally follows that true self-discovery begins with knowing Him and what He wrapped in the package called you. To put it bluntly, you cannot know who you are until you know whose you are.

Growth is evidence of life. A quality life is about growth at various levels. The extent to which you are willing to grow is the extent to which you are willing to make progress. So, invest on growing the core. But the type of growth that is of importance here has to do with our investment in our personal development. To grow the core therefore entails feeding the core. We must deliberately and strategically pursue relevant knowledge that nurtures the very essence of our being to enable us fulfil a discovered purpose. Disciplines only make sense when fueled by the knowledge of a pursuit greater than the sacrifice we make to get it. Disciplines become pleasure when destination is assured. The lack of the knowledge of a preferred destination is what makes discipline sound like punishment. When we are resolute about what we seek out of life, we will pay the necessary price to get it. No man climbs the ladder of success with his hands in his pocket. To feed and grow the core, we must seek knowledge. But not just any and every kind of knowledge, lest we become Jack of all trades and master of none or what Zig Ziglar called a ‘wandering generality”. The concern therefore is not the quantum of knowledge but the quality of the knowledge.

Finally, in minding the core, you must mine the core. Knowledge is useless unless applied. The truth that sets men free is not just the truth that they know but the truth that they do! Crisis is the litmus test of internalized and appropriated information. When your inner man is strong, you will stoically weather any storm and like the disciples of Jesus did, people around you will wonder what makes you sleep in a storm that gets others agitated and fearful. If you have fed your life with fear-inducing information, you will find yourself ill-equipped to face the giants of a crisis-prone existence. As in the language of ICT, garbage in, garbage out! If on the other hand you are filled with faith, obstacles become stepping stones. In mining the core, you are drawing on the resources hitherto deposited in the inner recesses of your heart that make you stronger on the inside than the circumstances that confront you on the outside.

Some years ago, armed robbers broke through the fence into our compound in the middle of the night. They had earlier shot at my dog when it barked and wanted to prevent their entry. The poor creature went quiet and I thought it had been hit. It only went into hiding! I simply picked the keys of the house, opened the main entrance door as well as the iron burglary proof main entrance and said to the marauders with an equanimity that puzzled them, “Yes, welcome gentlemen. Come right inside and tell me what you want or would you want to check the house and take what you like?” They became visibly unsettled as I gave them the little money I had and they left without causing further damage. Was I scared? You bet I initially was, considering the fact that they had shot and injured someone in the neighbouring house and had also fired a shot at my dog! So where did my confidence come from? It was in the firm conviction that my life is hidden in Christ as Christ is in God and so, cannot be prematurely terminated!

Put your life in order. Make the main thing the main thing. Pay attention to your core. Your future depends on it!

Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!