Hearing the No Law Message

One Sunday in the Summer of 2016, our associate pastor at Hillside Christian Church, Jonathan Mast delivered a message on Galatians 5:22-23. I’m sure that I have heard and/or read this passage a hundred times in my life. For some reason, this time, the message resonated with me. Nine simple words: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control. And the almost emphatic: Against such things there is no law. The no law part of this verse really spoke to me. As I pondered the text, I thought to myself, “there truly is no law against these principles. There are plenty of laws against their opposite, but no laws against the nine principles of the Fruit of the Spirit.” Could this be an unabashed way to live life? What do you have to be ashamed of if you live your life by these principles? I wrote the 9 words on the other side of a piece of paper from the Motivation Manifesto principles. I carry this piece of paper with me everywhere I go. The principles are very similar, but different to be sure. I started referring to this page often. Daily, sometimes multiple times a day. When I would react without thinking, I would ask myself, “Am I being self-controlled”, “am I exhibiting love” “am I being patient” just as a few examples.

I started to note that the more patient, loving, joyous, self-controlled I became, the happier I became. Amy Cuddy says in her book “Presence” to “Fake it until you become it.”  Some days, I had to fake the big smile, and the caring attitude, but eventually I felt a change in my heart. I really did care more. I was trying harder. I was peaceful. Everything began to fall into place. Truthfully, I felt that I had more faith in the process that was changing me. So, to expand a little on Amy’s quote: Faith it until you become it. I am not a big fan of being fake so I choose to use the term faith. It was by faith that if I were to act in a more loving way, that I would feel the love and want to share it even more.

The funny thing is, the cascade of events began way earlier than that. I believe divine intervention caused me to take notice of books, actions, etc. that I had never noticed before. What makes your wife send you the right Bible verse at the right time? What pushes her to give you a gift at just the right time in your life when you need it the most? What causes a pastor to deliver a “stand-alone” message just when you need it? Albert Einstein contends that there are two types of people in the world: those that believe everything is a miracle, and those that believe nothing is a miracle. I’m telling you; I believe that the cascade of events that I just described is nothing short of miraculous.

How I Grew Up

Who am I to write a personal development book? Probably more like you than you might think. My “rock bottom” was a great deal milder than other personal development authors. My childhood was normal. I grew up in a sleepy West Texas town. My parents never divorced. No one in my family had issues with the law. I’ve been married over twenty years and I have four wonderful children. My career path has not been what I imagined, but then again most probably have not. To this day I have not had a “near-death” experience. So, who am I to write a personal development book?

I through a difficult time in my life and realized that I have some real-world experience in pulling myself up form rock bottom and continuing on with life. A life of intention and fulfillment. I often hear people ask why celebrities commit suicide. “They have tons of money, fame, and friends,” people say. One thing that most of them lack is fulfillment. A purpose. I was lucky enough to turn my life from tumbling along like a Texas Panhandle tumbleweed and start living life with intention. And through living intentionally I have found my life to be more fulfilling.

Why would I keep that information to myself? To be honest, I take it personal when I hear another story of someone taking their own life. I feel like I should have started the process of writing my book, No Law, years earlier. This is why I will be publishing it soon.