See more of the research at https://www.viacharacter.org/research/findings/character-strengths-and--well-being-happiness. 

Read more about how life satisfaction is related to well-being at https://positivepsychology.com/life-satisfaction/. 

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Humility is the foundational trait that unifies a community. Christian humility means you have put God first and this value is reflected in the decisions you make, individually and socially. Christian well-being comes when God is placed in the center of the PERMA cycle (Acts 4:32, Philippians 2:1-2). Humility opens your eyes to gratitude and gratitude is the foundation on which a hopeful future is built because of your relationship with God. It's humility that energizes and enlargers your Christianity and this is one of the building blocks of hope.

• Read article on "Prescription for Anxiety..." and Appendix 2S for more on humility from a Biblical perspective. 

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T.S. Lewis, a British writer and lay theologian, says, “Humility is the most difficult of all virtues to achieve; nothing dies harder than the desire to think well of oneself”. Humility is the ability to esteem both yourself and your neighbor, rather than one above another. It is the essence of team work. Humility comes when you recognize the limits of humanity. It's when you accept this fact for yourself, not just everyone else, and you decide to turn to God, a Supreme Spiritual Being. When you choose to humble yourself, you learn to trust God and when you do, you'll trust others - which leads to love and this is what brings fulfillment / satisfaction to life. 

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Well-being consists of faith and love; Do you place your faith in God, in yourself, or another person? 

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The results are drastically different depending on who you choose to put your hope in. Are you God-dependent; independent; or co-dependent? Do your values align with who you say you honor? God dependency is yielding; it creates boundaries to your behavior as pictured in Appendix 2H. When a Christian chooses to incorporate faith into their well-being these boundaries become obvious to others. It is demonstrated when you voluntarily submit to the operating procedures of a Holy, Just and Loving God and are not being afraid to show it publicly. (Because you value God and your internal peace higher than your social acceptance/standing.) Relying on God as your source is a healthy dependence because it comes from trusting that God has your best interest at heart while He allows you the freedom to make your own choices.

• ​Choices determine your integrity. Are you using God's grace to change? Read the sermons called "Fit to be Used" and "Encounter Grace" from the Capture Your Vision tab. 

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Integrity (Part B) 

​Truth, the Foundation of a Healthy Psycho-social Balance

What you believe in are the traits/qualities that make up your psychological profile. When what you value, you do, you are said to have "character integrity". What you value is what determines the adjective used to describe your character; good or bad; Christian or secular. How you think about your Christian beliefs can generate hope (see "Take hold of Hope"). Christian virtues, when established as a way of or a pattern of thinking that are acted out in public forms your social reputation and results in lasting peace when the behavior is consistent with the majority of people in your community.

• Read more about “Personality Development” and “Intentional Christian Conduct” and take the quiz "Have you Achieved Christian Cognitive Consistency"?

 

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As a Christian, you can choose to please God by living with an eternal perspective* (2 Corinthians 4:17-18, Matthew 6:33, Psalm 73, https://www.gotquestions.org/eternal-perspective.html). When you know God’s Word, you can know God and discern God’s intentions - His character integrity. When you have made up your mind to follow God rather than yourself or someone else, you will reveal that decision publicly. But doing this is easier said than done. A Christian's well-being is affected by the social environment chosen. Your environment will either reinforce Christian values or cause conflict and unrest that can only be resolved through further decision-making which, when your goal is to get relief rather than do God's will, you will blur accountability and give birth to denial, rationalization and justification (Read Appendix 1E,  "... Preserving Peace".)  

*An eternal perspective is one that you choose to “put on” when you freely decide, “as bondservants of Christ”, to do “the will of God from the heart,” (Ephesians 6:6). Love expressed is proof of your acceptance of God's love for you and shows that you value God's opinion of you higher than your own own opinion of yourself .... and of your neighbor and this tempers your behavior. (You realize God's grace in you to act consistently with His principles, but you also know and are confident in His mercy when you occasionally give into temptation, 1 John 3:9.) 

• Read more about how love is the most important need in everyone’s life, regardless of your level of consciousness to this truth in Appendix 2S.

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Decision-making implies personal responsibility! There is a direct correlation between your decisions and your outcomes in this life and the next (Revelation 2:11, 20:6, 20:14, 21:8). Your decision to accept Jesus saves you fopr eternal life, but your decision to follow Jesus through this life limits sins consequences. When you display

Christian integrity (both in your character and in everything you do publicly), and when you intentionally shift your attitude to focus on gratitude and hope in God, it will inspire joy, peace and unity, and be proven, not by social approval, by the peace you feel when expressing value-based decisions (Colossians 3:16-17). The environment you choose to live in - will determine the extent of your physical transformation/sanctification and the quality of your social relationships. 

 

When you make the decision (psychological) to select a Christian social environment to go to after breaking bad habits, you'll feel at ease practicing your Christian values in public (social), establishing Christian cognitive consistency and realizing the psycho-social balance. However, if you as a person addicted to bad habits, choose

an environment that encourages the same conduct you already decided that you didn't want to do any longer, your attempt at recovery will fail, eventually. Why? Because you are relying more on your own will power than God's. When you change your goal to please God and not yourself, your decisions and actions will model God’s character traits (other-centered) rather than your own human instinct for instant gratification (self-centered). With a transformed human will, God's moral qualities will become the criteria on which you base decisions so your so it will show up in your behavioral choices because your perspective has changed to reflect integrity to God in your thinking, your actions and even emotional responses (2 Corinthians 10:4). This, then, is the transformed “you” that other people see. When you are authentic and transparent, you always make the same decisions according to your final authority in life. You will either show your Godly values publicly (Christian cognitive consistency) or you'll choose your own desires and you'll face the consequence of Christian cognitive dissonance (as indicated by your level of anxiety). 

• Take the quiz called "Character self-reflection".

• Read article; "Stay Strong". 

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God’s character is revealed in every book of the Bible, and so, provides the evidence that you can trust God to act consistently with His intention to love (1 John 4:16-20). This love, a holy, just love, is expressed in many different ways but always comes from His pure intentions, as personified by Jesus (Acts 10:34–35, 1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9, Romans 10:13). Jesus was the only example of living a life expressing Holy Love perfectly, although the people who choose to follow Him do not have to be perfect in love’s expression to earn the title, "follower"**. The often-quoted expression, “God knows our heart” can be interpreted to mean that God knows what we value. Once we consciously declare our faith in Him, God proclaims our spirit righteous based on our belief alone - a single-minded commitment to the realization of God's existence and authority over creation (Psalm 73:1, 73:26, James 4:8, 1 Thessalonians 2:4, 1 Samuel 16:7). When you get to know God's way of thinking, you develop a trusting relationship and trust acts (Luke 11:28)!

**Becoming a follower of Jesus is when your Christian character integrity becomes second nature as evidenced by your habits influenced by your decision to no longer aim for the practice of instant gratification (Romans 6:17, 1 John 3:8-10). God’s word encourages the expression of faith because He knows that when people live out their Godly values, they will reap the benefits of joy and peace, regardless of life’s daily circumstances (1 John 4:4,

John 14:17, Psalm 119:165, Romans 14:17, 5:3-5)!

 

A Christian will turn to the Bible for the encouragement needed to stay the course, to not grow weary from their decision to honor God (which can be equated to “swimming against the tide” if you do not choose to associate with God-fearing people, Psalm 119-1-8). Not one of the people listed in Hebrews chapter 11 was a perfect follower of God. But the list reveals that the Biblical person of faith acted on what he or she heard/knew about God. For example, Abraham and Noah may have heard God’s voice but Rehab made decisions simply based on God’s reputation. Ruth didn’t know God; however, she was motivated to act consistently with the values she saw displayed in Naomi which she expressed by her decision to move back to with her to Bethlehem (https://www.gotquestions.org/Ruth-and-Naomi.html). Samson trusted that, even though he was a rebellious son of God, when he cried out to God, He would answer his prayer because it accomplished both God's will and his own (Judges 16:28).

 

Procrastination is an example of our incomplete understanding of the speed at which faith was designed to act by God. Human doubt or unbelief slows down the timing. When God is the highest value/priority in life, you'll not hesitate to implement His Word. If you are a perfectionist, you surround your sunshine of faith with a rain cloud of uncertainty and this postpones the sun from shinning again until the rain shower (the battle of the human mind with Godly thoughts) subsides. The battle could also be attributed to incorrect beliefs about God's expectations. Anxiety will surface in you if you incorrectly believe that God expects perfection from you. (Other people may unfairly hold you to their standards, but God is merciful and just (which combined in the covering for sin in Jesus Christ.) Yours or another's erroneous beliefs don't need to form your reality when you have the truth of God's Word to align your thinking. Perfectionism as well as procrastination carries with it emotional anxiety that prevents you from change because of your psycho or social fear as opposed to a Holy fear of God. Grace Norberg (2015) says, ​

             On the surface, being a perfectionist seems like a good thing. It sounds like something one would say in a               job interview when they ask about “weaknesses” but you know you should still showcase your strengths.                However, perfectionism can be a real burden and negatively affect your life if you let it go too far.                             Perfectionism is actually a defense mechanism protecting against the pain of being wrong or feeling like a               failure. It can lead to being judgmental towards yourself and others, alienating friends and family, engaging             in negative self-talk, and feelings of stress and anxiety.​

 

Faith in God is shown by decisive action taken quickly because of the knowledge of God's character integrity, specifically, trait of mercy. Your actions may appear risky to others who do not share your faith, but to other Christians it serves as a powerful example of how trust in God can overcome fear and result in quick, decisive action (Joshua 1:9, 2 Timothy 1:7, Proverbs 3:5, Romans 8:28).

 

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Once a psychological decision is made to give your alliance to God, a second decision concerning your public behavior is needed to achieve peace of mind as you act out your Christian values (Psalm 19:7-9 and read Appendix 2M). You can now choose to control your own behavior (through reliance on the Holy Spirit) so you do not have to be swayed by the secondary emotions you may feel “in the moment” (like doubt, fear, worry, anxiety, anger, procrastination) because a life circumstance surfaced that did not meet your expectation. This is when

reliance on the Holy Spirit to influence your actions, proves itself (https://www.gotquestions.org/fruit-Holy-Spirit-self-control.html). Therefore, as a Christian, your level of anxiety will fluctuate based on (or is in correlation to) the amount of behavior expressed publicly, not perfectly – revealing that your heart trusts God rather than man (2 Timothy 1:7, Romans 8:5, 8:14, 14:7, 1 Corinthians 2:14).

 

Following the Holy Spirit may feel like driving a plane blindfolded, but, in reality, it’s trusting that you are flying on autopilot. This is how you calm your mind so that your values rule over your thinking and subsequent decisions/actions. This word picture reminds you to let your values drive your thinking and subsequent decisions, revealing confidence. Being confident in the goodness of God is what focuses your mind and enables your confidence to eliminate your worries (Psalm 19:7, Isaiah 26:3-4, 55:8-9, Proverbs 3:5-7, Matthew 6:34, 19:17, Psalm 31:19-20).

 

Faith inspired decisions may at first feel like risk taking as you go through the performance tension that learning new skills can bring, but you'll find that once your new skill becomes efficient (habitual-without much deliberation)

and it brings good long-term consequences, your level of anxiety decreases (Appendix 1N). The key to controlling worry is expressing publicly your knowledge of Christ through actions (1 Peter 3:1, 2 Peter 3:13-15). With loyalty to God, the right decisions are evident, but may be unpopular (with you or your social group), but when you stay grounded on the Word, your humility kicks in and provides you "Insight for Living" so you aren't swayed off course! Take the quiz called, "Good Goals and Habits Lead to Mission Accomplished".

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Your integrity to God is seen by others through your insightful, confident Christian conduct; showing your heart loyalty to God by making decisions that act out the wisdom of God in public (See Appendix 2G). Christian risk taking is seen by others as your calm demeanor communicating your willingness to trust God and show it (2 Thessalonians 3:3).

 

Placing your hope in God equips you with this Eternal Perspective

Read the articles in "Still Anxious?" to retrain your brain to think faith first! (Matthew 6:33) 

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When you look upon the situations in world and those that directly impact your life, using an Eternal perspective means you believe that eventually all things will work for the good of those of love God, and this living hope will drive your behavior (Matthew 6:33, Romans 8:11, 14, 28, 35-37, Appendix 2R). Having an Eternal perspective is what shapes and provides boundaries to your thinking and cuts through the common emotions that are associated with the limits of humanity (focusing you, instead, on what God can do through you).  1 John 4:4-5 captures the mindset of a productive Christian; ". . . You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world" (2 Peter 1:3-9). Simply put, the goal of living your life dedicated to bringing glory to God, rather than yourself, is what balances the psycho-social

equation in a Christian. Read article about God’s transforming grace @ https://ministry127.com/christian-living/5-graces-of-servant-leadership. Take the self-assessment called, "Practice Spirit-led Habits" and the quiz called, "Do You Show Integrity to God"?

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By relying on the Holy Spirit, you will turn and face the temporary strain associated with changing your social reputation to match your beliefs. As these new behavioral habits become normalized, acting within the boundaries of God's love and truth will become associated with your authentic social reputation. Your new social reputation leads you away from desires that your flesh is attracted to and keeps you walking on a straight path towards eternal and everlasting life (Isaiah 35:8, Ephesians 4:14-15, 1 John 4:6, 4:12-16, Proverbs 14:11, 21:26, Appendix 2N). Choosing to look at life using a Godly Eternal perspective takes focused effort despite the distractions of living in a materialistic world (Matthew 6:21, 19:21, Mark 8:36, Luke 12:15, Hebrews 13:5, 2 Corinthians 4:18, 1 Timothy 6:6). Your Godly Eternal perspective is one where you recognize God's supremacy and humble yourself so you choose to walk in love towards Him and as a result you show love to others (Isaiah 57:15, 66:2, 2 Corinthians 7:10, Luke 3:8, Ephesians 5:1-2, 2 John 1:6, John 13:34).

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It takes an intentional choice to frame your thinking to default back to the character of God when you are tempted to give into your untamed desires for instant gratification, fear and hopelessness (Colossians 1:27). Once you decide to set God as the source for your decision-making, you must use intentional thinking so that this new way of thinking becomes your new way of acting (1 Thessalonians 2:12). This, like any new behavioral skill, takes time to become habitual (read more at Appendix 1F). When you decide to incorporate your faith into your perspective (because you choose to remember God and focus on your eternal destiny), you are confident that no matter what happens in a sinful world, because of His character, God will use His supernatural power for our good and His glory, in His perfect timing (Isaiah 4:2-6, Revelation 19:1, 2 Corinthians 3:18, 4:5-7, Philippians 4:19-20, Romans 4:20, read  "...gain an eternal perspective"  "... Zeal for His own Glory"). 

 

Accepting God’s love for you motivates you to offer your pride and man-made authority back to God, resulting in your ability to walk in love (Philippians 2:1-11, 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, 4:6-7 Colossians 3:12-13, read more at Appendix 1K, 2D, 2F, 2O, 2T). Adjusting your thought life enables you to react to God with gratitude and loyalty so you walk in love to God - revealing His goodness to others through your consistent choice of behavioral expressions. This free-will offering to God demonstrates your humility to God (Romans 12:1-3). ​

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Have you reached your new normal in Christ?

• Take the quiz called, "What does your new normal look like; Do you STAY FULL OF GOD?"