Chapter 12: The Triangle Part Two: The Sliding Scale 2025
Years ago, I made the triangle for me. I could see that other successful people used a form of the triangle, they just didn’t call it the triangle. I guess they just knew how to live. They walked through adversity and would come out on top, or in the middle, or actually anywhere in between. Whatever happened, they were cool. What did they have? Well, they had the triangle. They didn’t call it that, they just lived it. Mind, body and spirit. I watched them read, work-out, discuss the Lord, do chores, not half way, but all the way. These chores would actually fuel their lives, as if they loved doing them. These people were successful at living, they could see things I couldn’t, they could make correct calls, where for me, it would be impossible. They were in effect, in control of their lives. Wisdom and knowledge seemed to be given freely to them. So, mind, body, spirit, wisdom and knowledge, the triangle, I thought, had five sides, not three as I originally imagined. As time went on I realized the difference between people that pretend to have it together and people that really do have it together. I tried to emulate this thing. I made notes, five items, mind, body, spirit, knowledge and wisdom. I knew I could do three. I could actually feed my mind good things, keep myself in the company of sober-minded people, become accustomed to the Word, stay in better shape, feed my spirit with chores and work. Yea, that all made sense, however this knowledge and wisdom thing, I couldn’t do that. I certainly couldn’t head down to Cosco and buy knowledge and wisdom, and even if I could buy the knowledge I wouldn’t know what to do with it, without wisdom. How do people achieve this knowledge and wisdom?
Jeremiah 33:3 ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and [b]mighty things, which you do not know.’
Armed with this information, I never wanted to lose it, so I wrote it down. And then I realized I could use this triangle and become better in my family life to my kids and my job as well. Working the triangle made me better in these areas. I wrote that down and that became the sliding scale. I’ll explain the “sliding” in a second. First I made a graph of all of these things that I could physically do. Again, I wasn’t in charge of knowledge and wisdom, but I could see it better when I was in order and the rest of the scale would help me do that. So I have myself a graph, a reminder tool to measure my work with the triangle. On this graph I had five items, a little different than the triangle, still mind, body and spirit, with the addition of family and business. It became clear to me that personal gain was irrelevant, service is the key. All things needed come from service. Service to these five measurements and everybody represented in those measurements, including and especially me. But definitely not in the mind of what I wanted, rather what needed to be done, what I needed to do. What I wanted seemed to get me in trouble. I wrote it all down called it the Sliding Scale. Don’t worry, I’ll explain the sliding, I’m gettin’ there. You see, while noticing people who had happiness, I noticed those who did not. Those who did not, did not work this triangle. So let’s explain the sliding scale. I wrote down the five things I could actually physically effect, leaving knowledge and wisdom to God. Mind, body and spirit, family and business. I made this graph of representing each area of my efforts from 1-10 in the positive or 1-10 in the negative, zero in the middle.
I surmised if I spent all my time on business and not health, I could and would get sick. I realized if I spent all my time at the gym and not at work, I’d run out of money. If all business and no family, big problems. If I failed at any one of these areas it would appear that all areas would be in jeopardy. One day I drew a line from business to family. I’d imagined I was about a plus ten on business and about a minus 2 on family. At the time my oldest daughter was two and her mother and I were not together. Thus the minus two. I drew a line from 10 to minus two and it looked to me like a descending slide, similar to a children’s playground, i.e., a sliding scale.
I realized that line represented a severe “slide” downward, an accurate descent of my whole life if not corrected. I also realized if I was even a plus one, it was enough to stay in the game above zero. Just keep all areas above zero. When I look at these two items every day, it began to occur to me, that it was still hard to hear the Lord’s voice, but it was a heck of a lot easier to discover the Lord’s voice, his knowledge and wisdom, when I strived to keep myself in good order. I could see the truth in all areas of my life, a little bit clearer, sometimes even crystal clear. I thought to myself, oh my gosh, if I can see the Truth, the Truth must be able to see me.
Suddenly, the Truth, the Living Word, my Lord Jesus Christ became real to me, a relationship where the two of us were working together on Kingdom work, not just worldly goals that generally may or may not work out. This is huge, but only to me, right? It only meant something to me. And these are my notes. The triangle and the sliding scale. I understood very quickly that this information was only golden to me and in the hands of me, I could change me. God could change me!
Where does God come into this? All of it. I couldn’t do any of it very good for a long time, but I tried and when I prayed for help, it got better. And today, I struggle with myself, but I’m better a little bit everyday, sometimes better than other days for sure. I understand the triangle and my own personal tester, the sliding scale are simply opportunities to be honest with myself and God. And that in God, I have a right to everlasting life, away from sin and death and a way to make sense out of this insane place we live in, but I have this right, only because of Jesus.
Charles Spurgeon once wrote the following: “I rejoice in those old Scotch books about the covenant: covenant truth was so inwrought into the Scotch heart that Scottish peasants as well as divines talked about it perpetually. You remember the good old cottager’s grace over her porridge.
I cannot repeat it in pure Doric, but it ran like this: ‘Lord, I thank thee for the porridge, I thank thee for an appetite for the porridge, but I thank thee most of all that I have a covenant right to the porridge.’ Only think of that, a covenant right to the porridge.” (Spurgeon)
Ephesians 6:12 – “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
The Sliding Scale is a graph, plain and simple. A measurement of the yield of the triangle and your life, a percentage gauge of those areas. But all of us can lie about it, fool ourselves, and be deceived into believing all areas are fine even when they are not.
Five areas of measurement, Mind, Body, Spirit, Business, Family. The triangle is the framework, the sliding scale is the measurement of the framework applied.
1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Being born again, is a promise to God that I no longer have the time to do certain things anymore, leaving time to obey the direction of God.
1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
Psalm 90:12 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. May the favor[a] of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands.
All of this, a measurement of my effort, to live a better life in Christ, and to be of service to the Kingdom. In my effort, God will and does absolutely assist by the gift of knowledge and wisdom that I wouldn’t have without Him. But really, could I receive knowledge and wisdom if I am personally out of whack? The answer is no I could not and I did not, until I fully accepted the challenge daily of a walk with Christ. Simply put, I just couldn’t hear it and if I did, I must’ve thought it was just something I made up or I heard somewhere, an option. Can you imagine!!
Revelation 14:12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
Don’t pick and choose God’s gifts given to you. Use all of it. Study the five sides of the triangle and the five areas of the sliding scale. Be honest about efforts in all areas, be aware of the knowledge and wisdom God can and will give freely if you seek Him in all areas of your life.
Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools[a] despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 2:6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
The job is to over-achieve. Can’t do that without Jesus. I’ve heard it said that God only gives you what you can handle. I do not find that to be true. Actually He gives me the impossible and when I do it, I’m clear it was impossible and He did it, not me.
The impossible is in the hands of the Man upstairs as my grandpa used to say. Look at the sliding scale and be real with yourself. Without correct checks and balances all people are foolish. Revolution/Evolution, Revolt against yourself and evolve. Definition of balance? Revive in the arms of the one true living God. It is my own way to continue to deploy Revival in my every day!
Revival: Restoration to Life, consciousness, vigor strength
Awakening: The act of waking from sleep, A recognition, realization, or coming into awareness of something…
Sliding Scale, don’t go below zero in any area, just keep it in the plus, even a little bit is better than below zero.
Psalm 39:4 “Show me, Lord, my life’s end
and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.
Simply put: Not engaging chapter 12 is like driving across the desert without a gas gauge in your vehicle. Life is not forever, it may not even be, for any of us, tomorrow, so today, let’s take a measurement of what the heck where doing and where we spend our time.
Galatians 1:11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
Chapter 12, Part One “The Triangle”, five sides, mind, body, spirit, knowledge and wisdom. Part Two “The Sliding Scale”. A graph measuring Mind, body, spirit, family and business. If you don’t get this chapter, you’re not paying attention, set down whatever you’re doing and listen to the podcast, just you and a headset, alone, listening to your buddy’s testimony. Revelation 2221.com.
There’s nothing between Heaven and hell except the right now. And the right now is up to you. Remember zero is not the bottom, there is a whole lot more below zero, it’s called failure, and not paying attention, does not pay well, not profitable.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Amen.
Donny, Jonathon, Courtney, Fackler get out a pen, John is going to give you his phone number. Call him directly and he will help you do your first assignment. It’s time to grab some extra you, with a little dash of the Holy Spirit.
CHAPTER 12 THE TRIANGLE PART 2 “THE SLIDING SCALE” 2025
