A Rule of Life: A happy plan for Christian living

This article originally appeared on Reverend Kyle’s personal blog site at www.revkylenorman.ca

In December of 2019, the Seattle Times noted that sales of daily planners and organizers rose to a whopping revenue of $386 million. And this was just for the planners themselves — the books of blank pages and organizational spaces. Sales of planner accessories is a whole other matter. The stickers, the insets, the bookmarks — the tools necessary for the avid planner today — rang in a total of $3.9 million. Clearly, “Planning” is big business.

While it may be tempting to see this as nothing more than a modern fad, I choose to see this differently. At a basic level, the quick rise of the daily planner undoubtedly points to a deeply-felt desire to be internally ordered. After all, given the constant flux and ever-changing nature of the world in which we live, is there any shock that there is an expressed desire to find a touchstone upon which one can order one’s life? Planning is not simply about jotting down the tasks of the day — it is about expressing a viewpoint, an attitude, a spiritual disposition with which one chooses to approach the day’s tasks and demands. Furthermore, the focus on goal-setting serves to beckon the individual planner toward that pearl of great worth of which they seek.

While the rise of planner-based businesses may be a recent phenomena, the attitude (dare I say spirituality) that lurks behind the adoption of these daily planners is quite old. For example, were you aware that the Book of Common Prayer actually suggests that all Christians develop a detailed plan for Christian living? It’s called a Rule of Life. Not only do we find this in the BCP, but beginning with the Desert Fathers and Mothers, Christian people of all sorts and stripes have found value in crafting a deep and holy order to their lives. The rule, whether it be an individual creation or one governed by a monastic community, presents a way of intentionality — a routine of personal rhythms and guidelines that give shape to one’s life of faith.

Importantly, the rule of life is not merely a thought about one’s life. “A Rule of Life” specifically refers to a written record or one’s faith intentions. Thus when the Cranmer instructs “Every Christian man or woman should from time to time frame for himself [sic] a Rule of Life” (BCP, 555), he instructs Christians to physically write down how they will intentionally live out their faith. Here is another crossover with the art of the planner. Studies have shown that the physical act of writing one’s goals positively impacts one’s ability to achieve said goals. Proponents of planning would undoubtedly agree. The placing of stickers and motivational sayings across one’s agenda is not merely for the purpose of beautification. It provides a written record of the life one is aspiring to live, thereby increasing the likelihood that such aspirations will be met. Writing a Rule of Life actually increases one’s ability to live out the intentional way of faith.

This means that a Rule of Life, while being a document to challenge and stretch us, needs to be workable. For example, it will do no good for a parent of small children to write a Rule that says that he or she will spend 9 hours a day in silent meditation. Anyone with small children knows this would be impossible. One’s Rule needs to fit into the messy tapestry of life as we experience it. Just like a financial budget needs to begin with the actual dollars and cents available to the person, a Rule of Life must refer to the life we actually live in the here and now. Only then can we begin to see the places where God may want us to shift our perceptions or habits to more fully engage in his presence. It is also best to think of a Rule of Life as a fluid document. Like moving around stickers on a planner, a Rule of Life is always changing, and naturally includes a certain amount of flexibility.

Therefore, the Rule of Life sits in this precarious place of fitting seamlessly into life as we experience it, while also challenging us to make changes to our spiritual life. The best Rule is one we do not feel we need to worry over, while at the same time, being one that calls us to concentration, reflection and prayer. Arguably there is a messiness here; just as the best planner-pages are the ones that call the individual to strive to live the best life, so too our Rule of Life should hold out to us the life of faith we aspire to live.

And live we must. We cannot remain eternally with intentions and desire. Eventually Jesus calls us to live our lives. Thus, a Rule of Life cannot simply be about wishes and dreams; it must include actions and practices through which we will govern our spiritual life with God. Adele Calhoun notes “Live-giving rules are a brief and realistic scaffold of disciplines that support your heart’s desire to grow in loving God and others.” (38) While not detailing every moment of life, the Rule gives a framework in which we live our Christian lives.

In this regard, the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) offers good guidelines for the different aspects we may reflect on in our Rule. The BCP records that the Rule of Life should consider: the regularity of attendance at public worship; the practice of private prayer, bible reading, and self discipline; bringing the teachings of Jesus into every day life; personal service; and, the offering of money to support the work of the church. These create the scaffold upon which an authentic, intentional Christian life is built.

Perhaps this is a challenge that the Rule of Life can place on planners. Planning, if it is to be a spiritual habit and not just a creative one, must push past the desire to merely fill up one’s pages with generalities. For example, does one use a planner to highlight the spiritual practices one is called to engage in? It is all well and good to plunk in a sticker that says ‘Be prayerful!”, but how does one actually plan for dedicated time of prayer, or public worship? Does one plan out just how one will live out the teachings of Jesus in regular life? These are questions a Rule of Life sits with, and to which today’s daily planners could aid in drawing people into deeper reflection. To use the planner in this way would be to create an ongoing record of one’s life with God. Whether you call this your “happy planner” or your Rule of life, having such record can only be beneficial for one’s walk with the Lord.

Sources:

• Seattle Times: https://www.seattletimes.com/explore/shop-northwest/which-planner-will-make-your-2019-perfectly-organized/
• Calhoun, Adele Ahlberg; 2015. Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices that Transform Us. Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press.