“For many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.” – Vilfredo Pareto

“Living with intention means saying no to the things that aren’t important to us so we can say yes to what matters most.” – Crystal Paine

“What is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

When I worked as a restaurant executive and management trainer, I often taught and employed the 80/20 rule (the Pareto Principle) that deals with the concept of spending your limited time on top priorities – driving the greatest number of results.

Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist, found that if you could identify the top 20% of issues and put most of your efforts against those concerns, you would gain 80% of the results you were looking to achieve.  What often happens unintentionally, as Dwight Eisenhowser suggests, is we deal with the things that seem most urgent.  The urgency of an issue drives our focus, and those issues are seldom the ones that hold the most importance or give us the most results.

This principle can be used when it comes to our spirituality and living out our Christianity to its fullness.  If all that represents the Christian life totals 100%, what are the top 20% of things we can focus on that will drive 80% of what it means to live a Christ-like lifestyle? 

Here is my personal take on the 80/20 rule of Christianity:

Loving God

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” – Matthew 22:37 KJV

When you think about it, the act of loving God is fundamental to the Christian life.  It seems like common sense, but what does it mean to put this principle into practice each day?

For me, it means talking with God continually throughout the day – inviting Him into every event, issue and circumstance that is unfolding.  It involves looking for Him in both the blessings and hardships that arise.  It means spending time each day listening to His gentle whispers that guide and direct you no matter what you face.

We love God when we commit our way to Him – honoring His sovereignty, His omnipotence, and His omniscience within our choices and actions.  It’s obeying what He asks of us without question and faithfully believing His way is the best way!

We love God when we come to realize He is the source of our life, that our purpose here has been divinely created by Him, and we reverently and intentionally live out that purpose every day we exist.  God becomes that heart and center of each event that makes up our earthly existence.  This my friend, is loving God 😊

Too often, we define loving God by our church attendance record and the rote, rehearsed prayers we mindlessly offer up each night before bedtime.  We think that by simply stating we are a Christian shows our devotion to Him, but true love of God is felt in the heart and actively lived out each day with humble intention.

What can you do tomorrow that moves you closer to God?  What can you do that reflects your love and friendship toward Him?  What steps can you take that will honor Him and include Him in every event and situation you encounter?

Loving and Serving Others

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” – Matthew 22:39 ESV

“But through love serve and seek the best for one another.” – Galatians 5:13 Amplified Bible

“As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.” – 1 Peter 4:10 BSB

At one time, Jesus was asked a trick question by the religious leaders of his time.  They asked, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”  Of course, there are ten, and to name one over the other would discount or lessen the remaining ones not mentioned or left out.

Jesus answered with authority, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, this is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it:  Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22: 37-39 NIV)

Both concepts embrace the entirety of the commandments:  To love God and to love others.  So, in essence, Jesus’ response inferred they were all important.

Notice how both are included in my 80/20 approach to the Christian life.  Seven of the Ten Commandments are related to how we interact and connect with others.  But how do we apply this to our daily life?

It begins with those closest to us – our family, friends, and other important relationships.  How are you honoring and respecting your parents, your spouse, your children and your close friends?  What are you doing TODAY that serves their greatest needs? 

I love how Jesus implores us to love others “as yourself” – to love them as much or more than you do yourself.  It translates into the way we speak, the way we interact, the care and the sincerity we exhibit.  It is shown best in actions – what we do more so than what we say.

But still yet, never discount saying, “I love you more than you realize.”  “You mean the world to me!”  “I think about you often and pray for you even more!”  Your genuine, thoughtful words can make a difference in the lives of others!

At your job, how can you better serve your supervisor or coworkers?  In your community, how can you serve in a way that supports and serves the greater good?

Each morning, make a specific plan and commitment on how you will enact and embrace this part of the 80/20 rule – making a difference in the lives of those you encounter.

Eliminate Pride with Humility

“For the Day of the LORD of Hosts will come against all the proud and lofty, against all that is exalted—it will be humbled.” – Isaiah 2:12 BSB

“As the Scriptures say, God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” – James 4:6 NLT

I included eliminating pride and hubris in my 80/20 rule because it was at the very heart of Satan’s fall and the fall of mankind.

“Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor.  So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.” – Ezekiel 28:17 referencing the fall of Satan

“You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.  I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” – Isaiah 14:13-14 referring to Satan

“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” – Genesis 3:6 NIV

When God confronted Adam and Eve about their sin, pride was evident in both of their responses.  Adam put the blame on his wife and even blamed God for giving her to him in the first place! (Genesis 3:12).  Eve blamed Satan and his deception (Genesis 3:13).  Their pride pushed aside any personal accountability or responsibility they had in the matter.

When you think about it, pride is at the very center of most sin and evil.  It places our own desires above God’s will for us – discounting His authority over our lives.  It also diminishes the needs of others in comparison to our own.  Pride destroys the first two priorities of the 80/20 rule.

Are there any areas of your life currently where ego and your own self-determination need to be examined and altered?  Has your pride impacted your relationship with God and others?  What can you do to take on the posture of humility?

Humility is a prerequisite to maintaining and effectively sustaining a love for God and service to others 😊 This kind of self-reflection is needed to identify and address any pride that needs to be eliminated within your life. This is one of the hardest things to address my friend as just the nature of pridefulness causes us to think there is nothing wrong with us. Daily prayer to ask God for help in identifying it within our lives and giving us the wisdom and power to change is critical!

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the pathway of everlasting life.” – Psalm 139: 23-24 NLT

I wrote an article recently about a humble approach to confidence that fits this concept (A Humble Confidence – Walking Your Predestined Pathway)  I hope you read it and embrace the principles it suggests – eradicating any pride in your life and replacing it with a confidence that can only be attained through our God.

Now think my friend if you apply the three things we discussed – a love and reverence for God, loving and serving others to the degree you love and care for yourself, and focusing on eliminating pride – replacing it with a humble confidence in the Lord.

I believe when it comes to living the Christian life, you’re 80% of the way there 😊  

May our loving Father give you the grace you need each day to become more like Christ!  As you do, watch how your life begins to transform in ways you never imagined.  God bless!

“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” – 2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV