Did you know there are clear and universal spiritual laws or principles? Three very evident ones could provide a spiritual solution to perhaps the world’s most pressing and seemingly impossible-to-fix problem: the dark mess the world is in. If you could do something about making the world a better place fairly simply—that is, be an effective part of the solution without significantly altering your work or lifestyle—would you consider doing that as one of your 2023 goals? (And I don’t mean a New Year’s resolution; I mean a priority to help attain the vision of how you’d like to see your life evolving this year.)
In my last post, I wrote about setting annual goals for each vital life area. Then I focused on just one spiritual possibility. To read more about the process and what I did in 2022 and another suggested consideration for 2023, see the Best Year Ever Spiritually blog post. This post relates to part of my spiritual vision for 2023.
Daily Action to Fulfill This 2023 Goal:
I will collaborate with God daily to create “Holy Moments,“ as described in Matthew Kelly’s widely distributed book of that title, subtitled A Handbook for the Rest of Your Life. A Holy Moment can be as quick as a smile or patient listening in a check-out line; it can be as big as writing a check to help dig a well where people have no running water or deciding to offer babysitting help to a single parent. Matthew Kelly says:
“A Holy Moment is a single moment in which you open yourself to God, and you make yourself available to him. You set aside personal preference and self-interest, and for one moment, you do what you prayerfully believe God is calling you to do.”
How Can One Person’s Simple Daily Action Be Significant?
Each Holy Moment triggers two or three spiritual laws. The first is what Matthew Kelly refers to as contagion. A good deed prompts recipients or observers to do a good deed themselves, even just responding in kind, setting up a domino-like chain reaction. One smile leads to more smiles. Or patient listening raises the spirits of someone about to give up on life. When a new well is dug, the better conditions uplift whole families or a small village, eliminating arduous walks to bring back less sanitary water in buckets and saving lives, and those lives can serve others.
I view this as the Law of Correspondence, supported by Luke 6:38 (Give and it will be given to you) and Matthew 12:34-35 (For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.) Shorthand for this principle is “You reap what you sow” or “What goes around comes around.”
The Law of Obedience is also at work when you seek and heed the instructions and guidance of God, which Is part of the definition of a Holy Moment. In 1 Kings 2:3, the dying David instructs his son, Solomon, “Observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him . . .. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go.” The blessings for obeying the voice of the Lord are enumerated in Deuteronomy 28:1-14. They include victory, coming together as a people, fruitfulness (children, livestock, crops, and handwork), financial favor, and leadership. There are also assurances in Isaiah 48:17 and 58:11 that God’s directions teach you what’s best for you and that his guidance satisfies your needs or desires, even in hard times.
In other words, by taking small moments to discern what God’s calling you to do and doing it, you’re bound to be blessed! And so are others!
The Law of Multiplication can enhance one’s focus on Holy Moments to benefit the world more effectively, and this principle operates like compounding interest. It’s also supported by Ephesians 3:20, in which Paul praises God, who can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine through the combination of his power and our collaborative work.
I love Matthew’s example of multiplication. Most people offered a choice between $1 million today or one cent that doubled every day for 31 days would instantly go for the million bucks. But the doubling penny would yield over $10 million in just 31 days!
That multiplication principle is similar to how Jesus founded his ministry with twelve apostles, teaching them how to preach, heal, cast out demons, and baptize, then empowering them to do the same for other small groups, two by two, from town to town. The Great Commission in Mark 15:16-18 exhorts every believer to go and do likewise—as Matthew Kelly does concerning Holy Moments. He asks that each person collaborating with God and creating Holy Moments accept the mission of teaching three others about Holy Moments. With the Law of Multiplication, he says it would take only 21 cycles for knowledge about Holy Moments to reach the whole world’s population. Some who hear of Holy Moments will forget about participating. But others who hear will share the concept with far more than three people. At HolyMomentsBook.com, you can request six free copies of the book to give to those you feel called to share the message with.
By publishing this blog, I hope to have stirred up a lot of interest in reading Matthew Kelly’s book; it’s a quick read and much more convincing than this short summary and suggestion that you consider joining the movement.
When you’ve read Holy Moments, I’d also love your feedback on the style and length of that book. I’m working on completing my book and preparing it for the editor. It’s tentatively titled Called to Be Me, Fruitful and Free. I’d love feedback on his style of writing, the number of pages, the use or not of Bible citations, and covering only one subject (Holy Moments) or several that seem to go together (Calling, Authenticity, Fruitfulness, and Freedom). Here’s a link to a short survey: https://radiantjoy.us/survey. If you’ll do me the favor of responding, I’ll be happy to send you a free hot-off-the-press copy of my book when it’s released later this year.
Together with each other and in collaboration with God and the spiritual laws, isn’t it great that we CAN make the world a better place!
