Whole Person Concept

June 9, 2009 by Lakita
Filed under Encouragement

Ever heard of the “whole-person" concept? It is a military factor used by senior leadership when qualifying prospects for promotion. It is subjective and highly based on the opinion of the governing board. The whole-person concept does not look at metrics such as how many awards you’ve won, fitness test scores, or commanders’ ranking, it looks at what is done outside of military duties such as volunteer work, education goals, and other types of activities.

While praying about what to write this month I kept hearing “whole”. I started to ponder on the whole-person concept as I know it. It is based on “filling a square”, which means doing what needs to be done in order to progress to the next rank. As dance ministers, I propose to you, – to apply the "whole" person concept, not based on the military standards, but rather 1 Thessalonians 5:23:

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord is the one doing the promoting; not your boss, not my boss, not your seniority but God! Psalms 75:6 says For promotion comes neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he puts down one, and sets up another. Not only is the Lord about to promote us in the natural but spiritually as well. Are you ready for promotion? Have you applied the “whole-person" concept to your life?

Look at the scripture above again…”your whole spirit AND soul AND body”. You can’t take care of one without the other. In fact, what you do to one affects the other. Below are a few examples:

As an active dance minister you may exercise regularly and be disciplined to eat nutritious, balanced meals, but are you feeding your spirit through prayer, reading, and studying the Word of God?

Let’s say you read the Word of God on a regular basis, have a good prayer life, and on top of that you exercise and eat healthy. Sounds good so far — but you’re a worrier. You may pray, but you do not leave your problems at the altar and continue to carry whatever burden instead of releasing it to the Lord. Did you know that worrying and anxiety can have an affect on your body and affect how you minister???

The combinations could go on – but the point is to be whole. Apply the whole-person concept to your life. Do a self assessment. Be always conscious that there is more to YOU than your outward body. Take care of your body, mind, and soul. The Lord is waiting to promote His children…but we have to be ready! Are you ready???