Living in the world is hard.
There are countless things influencing us and pulling us in all kinds of directions. If we don’t have a sense of rooting or foundation, it’s extremely easy for us to become lost.
Praxis Labs’ A Rule of Life aims to help tackle this.
“This Rule of Life is meant to guard us and our households from the greatest dangers of our particular calling, and to maximize our opportunity for redemptive influence.“
TIME
Our vocation tends to make us both eager to work hard and constantly haunted by a sense of urgency and busyness. It also often deprives us of opportunities to balance mental and emotional effort with the development of our soul and our physical body.
Instead of endless productivity, we are encouraged to practice a rhythm of work and rest, attending to our need to grow in all the dimensions of being human: heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Praxis encourages their redemptive entrepreneurs to commit to taking one full day every week for complete rest from our daily work and to make this possible for everyone within our sphere of authority.
We seek creative approaches that include finding new ways to incorporate rest and physical health into the lives of work teams and their families, recognizing that without our active endorsement, they may feel direct or indirect pressure to constantly produce and perform.
MONEY
Whatever our compensation, we are wealthy when compared with the rest of the world, and embedded in global systems of materialism and consumerism. Our calling requires careful attention to cash and capital flows.
Instead of being preoccupied with money and possessions, we practice simplicity and generosity.
Praxis encourages their redemptive entrepreneurs to commit to giving away a minimum of 10% of their gross income, with special attention to the needs of the materially poor.
We seek generous business models that can be implemented throughout the supply chain, from vendors to customers
POWER
Our vocation places us in intense working environments that grant us power and status, tempting us to use these gifts for our own control, gratification, fame, and ego—often at the expense or exclusion of others.
Instead of accumulating power to benefit ourselves or exploit others, we use it to generate possibility for those who have less access to opportunity.
Praxis encourages people to commit to the practice of gleaning — frequently sacrificing opportunities for our own advancement to intentionally create pathways for others.
We seek creative approaches to using organizations and institutions to restructure access to opportunity and capital among communities where these have been restricted, through long-term partnerships and networks that rebuild empathy and equity.
COMMUNITY
Our vocation can easily consume all our time and relational energy, giving us the illusion that our identity comes entirely from our work.
Instead of individualism and isolation, we practice real presence with others who are not part of our daily work.
Praxis encourages redemptive entrepreneurs to commit to regular participation in a community and to seek friendships and mentoring relationships.
We seek creative approaches to being deeply known, such as carefully tracking our time with our family and closest friends and to reducing the conflict between paid work and responsibilities to family.
From praxislabs.org
Click here to see the e-resource.