June 6, 2016

Worship, Work and Play: A Model for Seeking Balance

In a world where people become busier as each day passes, balance seems elusive. But what if there was a simple way to gain a sense of balance? Christopher McCluskey, President and Founder of Professional Christian Coaching Institute, developed an effective model to help you attain a sense of balance between work and life.

Foundation for Worship, Work, and Play Model

The basis for McCluskey’s model stems from the Christian premise that our ultimate life purpose is to glorify God. McCluskey expounds: “Of course, the man was created in His [God’s] image, but in His image, we fell and we oftentimes are not very glorifying of Him, but the glory of God is man fully alive—body, soul, and spirit.” Scripturally, the tenant to “offer your bodies as living sacrifices” (Rom 12:1) is a call to worship. As an answer to the question, “How do we live that out?,” McCluskey created the Worship, Work, and Play Model.

Worship, Work, and Play in Action

The schematics attempt to paint a picture of what it looks like to operate in a relatively balanced state of fluid living—not perfection but simply moving toward balance as opposed to away from it. 

Slide1

Worship includes attending church, engaging in Bible study, reading daily devotions, and devoting time to prayer. It can also include things like taking a walk in nature and marveling at Creation. Work is primarily what you do to earn a living. Household chores are usually included in this category as well. Play relates to the activities you enjoy. It might be your hobbies or perhaps even volunteer work. 

Slide4

Worship engages the spiritual nature (heart). The spirit is the facet of our lives that actually worships, but the process of worship also feeds the spirit. Work physically puts our bodies into motion. The body does the work, but the effect of work affects the body. Play delights our minds, will, and emotions. We make up our minds and will ourselves to play. It's fun and exciting. But play actually stimulates our minds, wills, and emotions, too. Each of the three parts is just as much integrated and reciprocal as they stand alone.

Slide7

 Ideally, our worship feeds all the other areas of our lives. If we worship God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, then work and play flow naturally. There is a rhythm to life and it feels good. McCluskey points out, “Christians as well as non-Christians, and Christians perhaps even more than other persons perhaps tend toward a great imbalance in this model—worshiping our work, working at play, playing at our worship.”

Slide8

That's when we begin to look for the escape hatch. We're overworked, overwhelmed, and feeling unappreciated. The good stress that keeps us going turns into bad stress and keeps us stuck. Anxiety and depression can come at these times. It's often hard to get out of the rut if you don't know what caused it in the first place. That's why it's important to take an honest assessment of each area of your life. This becomes a gauge by which you can begin to see where your time is going. It creates self-awareness around how to reprioritize responsibilities and tasks in order to bring life back into a more balanced state. To learn more about McCluskey’s model and the process for personal application, click here or visit ProfessionalChristianCoachingToday.com and click on Worship, Work, and Play. You can also read more in Christian Coaching by Gary Collins. If this intrigues you, please reach out to me today!

One comment on “Worship, Work and Play: A Model for Seeking Balance”

  1. […] It talks about what most people would call a work/life balance. Chris McCluskey calls it the “Worship, Work, and Play Model”. This blog will take you a few minutes to read, please do. You may even want to bookmark it so […]

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