What are your core values?

I'll share mine.

Part of the change in my own life is seeing how I can tangibly live a life God would be proud of, rather than just talking about it.

I don’t know how to exactly do that, but the best guesses from the lessons Jesus taught have to do with loving God, loving others, having humility, having integrity, being generous, learning to forgive, and seeking justice. That’s a lofty list of core values. I am going to start with flossing. I realize it’s not on the list, dummies, but we are starting with baby steps here.

I wrote the core values above on a piece of paper and taped them to my office wall. It couldn’t hurt.

· Love God

· Love Others

· Be Humble

· Live with integrity

· Be generous

· Forgive

· Seek Justice and mercy

I figured I’d see them there every day, and it may help. I also started thinking differently about God. Instead of getting angry at the people around me who professed to have all the answers, and royally pissed me off about the judgment they cast into the world, I thought I’d tune them out and start to talk to an audience of my own.

What if we all lived like this? Wouldn’t the world be a better place? Let’s say you didn’t believe in God, but you believed in love, and kindness. That works.

Let’s start looking at one - generosity. It’s a core value. But it's hard to do well.

You can't hand out dollar bills to others when you can barely pay the electric bill. You also can't get abused by people who do nothing but suck on your time, talents, and energy. You want to be generous in time and spirit, and you may want to have a servant's heart, but how?

I struggle with this. We all do. Successful people juggle so much. You run a business, go to your kid's school events, deal with an elderly parent, manage the office staff, worry about patients. When is there time left in the day to mentor someone, give back, and be generous?

You also have to develop boundaries. So many times I've given my time or money to something and realized that the recipient abused my generosity.

Here is the kicker - move on. Don't let it jade you. Don't let it bring you down. Dust off your feet and keep moving. Not everyone is this way.

"I'll be generous when I retire," you think. "I'll give money to a charity."

But it's the mindset of generosity that counts. Here are some examples:

--> A colleague you don't know that well calls you with a problem. You carve out 15 minutes on the drive home to talk to her, give her some direction, tell her your thoughts, offer kindness and a different perspective.

--> A young student wants to meet with you. You don't have time for lunch, but you can meet him in the break room or a zoom one day for 30 minutes. You listen, hear him out, give advice.

--> The mechanic shop tells you that your car needs to be fixed. You notice the guys working there are tired, frustrated, beat down. You leave a tip for the front desk to give to them. You don't see their faces or seek a thank you.

--> Every single time you go to Starbucks, pay for the person behind you. Make it a habit, and not optional. This becomes routine, and it gives you great joy.

Being generous with your time and your money is catching. It creates waves of kindness, and encourages others to do the same. Do you lose money? Perhaps. Do you carve out some time for it? Yes. Is it worth it? Hell yes.

But it's the heart of a servant that makes one wealthy. Don't miss out on opportunities all around you.