Last week, a friend sent me this quote by the inimitable Walker Percy:

“I believe in God and the whole business but I love women best, music and science next, whiskey next, God fourth, and my fellowman hardly at all. Generally, I do as I please. A man, wrote John, who says he believes in God and does not keep his commandments is a liar. If John is right, then I am a liar. Nevertheless, I still believe.”

It’s not a quote about investment, at least, not on financial investment, but doesn’t the point hold? If we say we value certain things, shouldn’t our priorities prove it? Shouldn’t the way we invest our time, effort, and energy prove it?

Look at your gratitude list, the list of things you claim to value. For review, here’s mine:

Amber: For the twenty years we’ve shaken beds and fists together over the last 20 years; for the ways she sticks with me in the thin and thick times; for her beauty;
Creativity: For the ways making things—photographs, books, poems, whatever—brings me life;
Career: For the fact that creativity drives my daily work;
Church: For the ways it keeps me centered, even when its systems and structures fail;
Advent: For the season of reflection before the coming of Joy.

These are just a few of the things I claim to value. Why, then, does it seem that so often my only intentional investment is in my career? Why is it that everything else seems to get my spare change, spare time, spare effort? Is the same true for you?

Maybe we’re all a little like St. Percy. Maybe we all have a little liar woven into our DNA. Or maybe, we just need to reset our attention. Maybe we should use the tools at our disposal to keep ourselves on track.

Living a Life of Examined Investment: Today, ask yourself if the things you claim to value most are reflected in the ways you organize and prioritize your time, effort, and energy.

***

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY REVIEWED THE BOOK OF WAKING UP!

Here’s what they said:

“In very short chapters, Haines tosses out questions and then provides answers, but always in an open-ended, inviting way. … These fruitful ruminations will appeal to readers who enjoy the works of Jim Wallis.”

Order your copy at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or wherever good books are sold.