Routine?

I absolutely love the enneagram. The enneagram is a system of personality typing that helps describe how each of us see the world and manage our emotions. There are nine types in the system and we all fall under one of those. I am a type seven. We are people who love to have fun while avoiding pain and boredom. We want to get every bit of enjoyment we can out of life.

For the longest time I have fought against routine. Much of this is because of my personality. I love spontaneity! If I have a routine that means I don’t have time to squeeze in all the fun that I possibly could have into my life! To some of you reading this you are thinking, “No routine! Is he crazy?” I know! It shows how different our personalities can be. As I’ve grown older and studied through scripture, I have started to realize the importance of routine.

If I don’t have a daily time to spend with God, will I ever do it? Maybe, but not on a regular basis. If I don’t have a routine for resting each week, will I ever do it? Maybe, but not on a regular basis. If I don’t I don’t have a routine of spending with family, will I ever do it? Maybe, but not on a regular basis. If I don’t have a routine of spending time with my church, will I ever do it? Maybe, but not on a regular basis.

Routines, contrary to my former beliefs, are not something that restrict me, but they actually give me more freedom. When I have a routine to spend time with God then I don’t let other things get in the way of my relationship with Him. When I have a routine to rest each week, I’m not burned out all the time from my busy life. When I have a routine to spend time with my family, my relationship with them is strengthened. When I have a routine to spend time with my church then I build relationships that might not have ever formed.

You see, routines help build the life that I want. It’s not about being legalistic and keeping a certain set of rules. I have a routine because they help me keep what’s important to me important. Routines help to make sure that things that are unimportant don’t take over my life. So let me encourage you this week to find where you might need to add a routine to your daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly life. Look and see how a routine would help you grow in your relationship with God and others. Take it from a guy who has spent most of his life fighting against routines, if we want to be formed more into the image of Christ we have to be intentional and if we are going to be intentional we might need a good routine.

Joel Harper