When we look at the wider text of Sacred Scripture, we find that God consistently reinforces an inner-to-outward flow in His interactions with humanity, while human failure repeatedly traces back to an inversion of this sequence. True spiritual maturity requires a relentless commitment to protecting this sequence of the soul:

Priority Order	Dimension	Ultimate Spiritual Intent
1	BEING	Anchored in Christ; dying to self daily.
2	DOING	Holy ministry flowing naturally out of deep communion.
3	HAVING	Charisms, relationships, and tools held loosely for God’s glory.

I. Biblical Examples of God’s Order (Being > Doing > Having)

1. The Commission of Moses (Exodus 3–4)

The calling of Moses at the burning bush provides an incredible masterclass in how God establishes identity, and how human insecurity desperately clings to the level of Having.
When God prepares to rescue Israel, He establishes the progression of the soul:

• Being (Oneness and Identity): Before Moses is given a single task, God anchors Moses in His own presence. At the bush, God reveals His ultimate identity (“I AM WHO I AM”) and anchors Moses as His chosen instrument (Ex 3:14). When Moses objects out of profound insecurity, God does not give him resources; He gives him a state of being: “I will be with you” (Ex 3:12).
• Doing (The Ministry): Only after this foundational identity is secure does God give Moses his active mandate: “So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt” (Ex 3:10).
• Having (The Charisms/Tools): Finally, God equips Moses with external signs and possessions, asking, “What is that in your hand?” (Ex 4:2). The ordinary staff becomes the “staff of God”—an external tool used to perform miracles, held loosely to serve God’s purpose.

The Failure Within the Call

Yet, even within this divine encounter, Moses falters because he briefly traps himself in the architecture of Having. Moses looks at the immense task of confronting Pharaoh and panics because he focuses entirely on what he lacks. He essentially objects that he cannot Do what God is asking because he does not Have the talent of eloquence:

“O my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor even since you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” (Ex 4:10)

Moses falsely believes that his capacity to serve God relies on having a specific natural gift or a polished technique. He measures his potential from the outside in. God immediately rebukes this inverted logic by pulling Moses back to the realm of Being—reminding Moses of Who created human nature in the first place: “Who gives speech to mortals? Who makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” (Ex 4:11). God shows Moses that an anointed mission does not require a reservoir of personal talents; it requires total reliance on the One who says, “I will be with your mouth” (Ex 4:12).

2. The Baptism and Ministry of Jesus (Matthew 3–4)

Jesus Himself models this progression perfectly at the start of His public life, proving that active service must always flow out of an unshakeable inner life.

• Being: At His baptism, before Jesus has preached a single sermon, organized a single program, or performed a single miracle, the Father establishes His baseline identity: “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased” (Mt 3:17). His worth is entirely safe in His state of Being the Son.
• Doing: Immediately following this confirmation of identity, Jesus is led into the wilderness to overcome the enemy’s inversion traps, and then enters His active public ministry, Doing the work of preaching, teaching, and healing.
• Having: As a result of His secure Being and obedient Doing, He Has absolute spiritual authority, causing the crowds to note that He taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

3. The Vine and the Branches (John 15)

Jesus explicitly teaches this sequence as a foundational spiritual law for all believers, showing that forced action is entirely useless.

• Being: “Abide in me as I abide in you” (Jn 15:4). The primary call is relational oneness—remaining anchored in communion.
• Doing: “Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit” (Jn 15:5). The Doing (bearing fruit) is never forced or compulsive; it is the natural, effortless overflow of Being connected to the Vine.
• Having: “If you abide in me… ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (Jn 15:7). The Having (answered prayers, spiritual gifts, and resources) follows naturally because the interior desires perfectly match the Vine.

II. Scriptural Failures of the Inverted Order

When human beings bypass communion and attempt to navigate life by focusing on possessions or achievements first, their inner life fractures completely into an agonizing loop:
[Table 2]

1. King Saul and the Inverted Sacrifice (1 Samuel 13 & 15)

King Saul is a classic example of a leader who sought his baseline security in Having control and public approval.

• The Trap of Having: When facing the Philistines, Saul saw his army scattering. Fearing the loss of his military resources and his status in the eyes of the people, he panicked. He prioritised having a secure strategic position over being obedient.
• The Compulsive Doing: Out of this insecurity, he rushed ahead and performed a religious sacrifice himself (1 Sam 13:12), bypassing the prophet Samuel. His Doing was a frantic attempt to force a blessing and fill a hole in his fragile identity.
• The Distorted Being: Because he lived from the outside in, Saul’s core identity fractured completely. When Samuel confronted him, Saul’s ego became defensive and inflated with pride, yet deeply defeated by paranoia. Samuel told him plainly: “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel?” (1 Sam 15:17). Saul forgot who he was in God because he was too busy managing what he had.

2. The Rich Young Man (Matthew 19:16-22)

This seeker approached Jesus with a profound existential question but was completely trapped in the external tier of existence.

• The Trap of Having: The young man’s whole sense of inner safety and identity was completely anchored in his wealth and status: “He had great possessions” (Mt 19:22).
• The Focus on Doing: He approached Jesus asking, “What good deed must I do to have eternal life?” (Mt 19:16). He viewed salvation as a checklist of performance—another thing to accomplish.
• The Fractured Identity: Jesus looked at him and challenged his Having by telling him to sell his possessions and give to the poor. Jesus wanted to strip away the external attachments so the young man could find his true Being by coming and following Him. Tragically, the young man could not make the leap; he went away grieving, his identity shattered because he could not separate his self-worth from his net worth.

3. Simon the Sorcerer (Acts 8:9-24)

Simon was a famous magician in Samaria who converted and was baptized, but he brought his inverted worldly architecture into Christ’s Church.

• The Trap of Having (Targeting Charisms First): When Simon saw the Apostles Peter and John laying hands on people to impart the Holy Spirit, he skipped communion entirely and focused straight on Having spiritual power.
• The Attempted Transaction: He offered the Apostles money, saying, “Give me also this power so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:19). He wanted to Have a charism as a trophy for his ego to show off his spiritual superiority.
• The Distorted Being: Peter immediately delivered a severe psychological and spiritual diagnosis of Simon’s inverted heart:
  “May your silver perish with you,
  because you thought you could obtain God’s gift with money!
  You have no part or share in this task,
  for your heart is not right before God.”
  — Acts 8:20-21

Peter concluded by telling him plainly, “For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and the chains of wickedness” (Acts 8:23). Simon’s Being was deeply sick and corrupted because he tried to buy a spiritual possession rather than dying to self to let Christ be formed within him.

III. Restoring the Soul’s Natural Order

If you find your happiness, security, or identity solely in what you have (possessions, status, attachments) or what you do (achievements, ministries), you will inevitably face burnout, pride, or deep despair.
But when you commit to dying to the self, allowing Christ to be fully formed in your inner being, your foundation becomes unshakeable. Like Jesus on the Cross, even if you are stripped of all you have and blocked from all you can do, your core identity remains beautiful, secure, and safely held in the hands of the Father.