19 Jan 2014 by Adeline Lum CM-
“Each one of us is special and created with a purpose. Don’t let the distractions in life distract us so much that we forget the purpose we have in each of our life,” said Dr Peggy Wong, guest speaker in Grace Assembly of God in Petaling Jaya on Jan 11.
She defined success in the past as 5 C’s—Cash, Condominium, Car, Credit Card, and Club—which actually belong to one ‘F’, which is Finance.
But the Lord showed her the 7 F’s instead, which is the true measure of success. Published in her written book—Living a Balanced Life—here is a sneak peak of what you can find in this book.
So, what are the 7 F’s?
1. FAITH
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
(Hebrews 11:1)
God is your biggest asset. God is the chairman of your business. If you need wisdom, ask the Holy Spirit anytime for wisdom before you enter the boardroom, meet a client, and whether to sign a deal, and He will lead you to the right way.
Ask for courage and boldness in your faith. Dr Peggy is bold in her ministry of Living Hope because she knew there are three men behind her—God the Father, Jesus her Big Brother, and Holy Spirit her Best Friend—who loved her very much.
Ask ‘what’ and not ‘why’. Instead of asking God, “Why challenges happened to me?” ask “What lesson I am learning now?”
Be equally yoked for business partnership. We will never know the hidden agenda in people we partner with, which cause many partnerships to fail. Hence, there is a reason why we should yoke with followers of Christ for business partnership.
Listen to God’s voice with a humble and dependent heart. Peggy shared that there’s always two voices in your mind; the first one is a voice that you can feel in your Spirit that a plan is workable. The second voice is a voice that comes against the first voice with reasoning and all kinds of justifications; this is from the enemy. When that happens, seek God for confirmation.
Go in faith after confirmation. Starting Living Hope for Dr Peggy took a big step of faith, from living in the comforts of an urbanite to crossing river-infested with crocodiles and hiking into the jungle, all for the forgotten and forsaken children in Malaysia. From a position of authority, Dr Peggy went into the heart of servant hood and submission to God.
2. FAMILY
Be faithful to your spouse. When God put us together, we are meant to complement each other till death.
Wives submit to husbands and husbands love your wives. Dr Peggy shared how submitting as a wife can be challenging especially when she held a position of authority at work. But God said that if she submits to her husband, she is submitting to God.
Spend time with your family. Due to her hectic work, Dr Peggy had no time for her sons during their childhood. But because God gave her a second chance of motherhood when her sons became teenagers, where she got to spend more time with her sons during those years. Now, Dr Peggy has a very close relationship with her two sons, where they would spend the weekends together. “We send our children to the best schools, but we leave them to be taken care of an illiterate helper” said Dr Peggy contemplating on the irony.
3. FINANCE
God wants to bless you so that you can bless others. “If we are not rich, how are you going to bless other people?” said Dr Peggy, disowning the phrase, “As poor as a church mouse.” Drop the poverty mentality because it is the lie of the devil. The Lord wants to bless you so that you can bless others.
“When you give into the Kingdom, you will be surprised with how blessings will flow into your life. Tithe your income because it’s God’s money anyway. And by His grace, the Lord allows us to use 90 percent of His money,” said Dr Peggy. Money is not evil, but it is the love of money which is a root of all kinds of evil (1 Tim 6:10).
4. FITNESS
Physical Fitness. Our body is the temple of Christ (1 Cor 6:19), so eat the right food and exercise. As ambassadors of Christ, other people would look at how we take care of our body.
Emotional Fitness. Many of our emotional problems stem from unresolved issues in childhood. Bring your problems before Christ and let Him heal us of these pains.
Spiritual Fitness. The way we can build our spiritual fitness is to spend time in God’s presence and read the Word daily.
5. FRIENDS
The secular world says, “You are who you are, from the friends you mix with.” But be the right kind of friend, before you attract like-minded friends. For example, be an encouraging person, one who builds up and not tear down the other person.
Proverbs 13:20
Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.
Also, forgiving is important in maintaining a friendship. “If you don’t forgive, you are just drinking poison and you will die slowly, while the other party who hurts you may not even know it. You become more and more bitter, and it will show on your face,” said Dr Peggy.
6. FUN
Having fun is about bonding with your family and celebrating milestones in our lives! “Christians should be always joyful and laughing at all times. If people see Christians always (being) unhappy and grumpy, then it’s not good testimony for God because we are ambassadors of Christ,” she added.
Take time to rest from your work and have fun. Even God rested on the seventh day after He completed the work He had been doing (Gen 2:2).
7. FRUITS
What kind of legacy are we leaving behind to our children? These are the legacy of finance, legacy of affirmation, legacy of challenge, and legacy of insight.
Are we giving them good spiritual values?
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last (John 15:16)
CONCLUSION
“God retire us from the secular world so that we can serve in the Kingdom. There’s no retirement as in God’s economy. If you retire from work and do nothing you will have higher chances of getting Alzheimer or Parkinson disease,” said Dr Peggy. Serve our Father and fulfill your mission that God had created you for.
Although she had all the 5 C’s in year 2000, Dr Peggy realized that she never really had peace and joy. But now, with a balanced lifestyle of 7 F’s, she is grateful that God has given her a second chance to live this second part of her life purposefully.
Are you compromising any of your 7 F’s by running the rat race? Run the right race with the 7 F’s now and Father God will be waiting for us at the finishing line. We can then tell Him joyfully what we have done with the time, talent, and treasure that He has given us. He will say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
Note: The book “Living a Balanced Life” is available at Canaanland, Czip Lee and MPH at RM20.00
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