I’m a clean freak. I like stuff in my house clean. I like my car to be clean. I like for my yard to look “clean” and manicured. I am sure that about half of the people reading this can relate to me while the other half don’t mind it as much if things are a little cluttered or overdue for a vacuum. I don’t want, nor expect, everybody to be wired the same way that I am, but there is one area where I want to encourage every man reading this to clean things up.
If you’ve got some loose ends in your life that are not quite feeling “clean,” I’d encourage you to take a look at making some changes. I think you know what I mean without too much explanation; if you have some spots in your life you know might lead to issues down the road, clean them up!
I know that life is complicated and tiring sometimes, and I’m not judging or saying that everybody is going to be always living fully in alignment with their values. However, I hope this article reminds you that you probably do have some areas where you know that you’re not living up to your own standards. When we see an area of life where we aren’t living in alignment with our values, it’s not time to beat ourselves up. Rather, it is time to make a change. If I find that my mind was somewhere else so I turned the wrong direction out of a parking lot, I don’t spend a lot of time berating myself. I just find a safe place to turn around and start heading in the direction that I actually want to go.
That is exactly what I want to encourage each of us to do. If you have an area in your life where your actions and values are not in alignment, then it’s time to figure out how to turn things around and start heading in the right direction. Maybe that means you stop texting that work friend about things that are starting to verge on flirting or an emotional connection that is a little too deep. Maybe it means you look into some techniques or counseling to get your anger in check because you’re noticing that you’re taking it out on the people around you. Maybe it means you cut back on the hours you’re working so that you can spend more time with your spouse and kids.
You see what I’m getting at here, right? I’m making some suggestions, but I’m sure you have a few things coming to mind for yourself. Remember that I am not the one who determines your values. I just want to encourage you to make sure you live in such a way that you have integrity and purity.