Skip to main content

Beginnings and Endings

 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. (John 1:1-2, 14)

          I’m camping on the subject of good decisions. In Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey wisely teaches “Begin with the end in mind.” That’s a critical, valuable, important piece of advice. If you don’t have a destination, the only way you’ll get there is by accident. I fear that’s the way most of us live our lives.

          But, beginning with the end in mind isn’t the only critical, valuable, important piece of advice. We also need to begin with the beginning in mind, and to end with the beginning in mind. If you’re starting in Cleveland, and want to get to New York City, it doesn’t make sense if the exits you’re seeing are for Chicago, Omaha, or Salt Lake City. It does make sense if you see exits for Erie and Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and Wilkes Barre.

          In the same way, if today’s passage means something to you, there are decisions that will flow naturally, and decisions that won’t really fit. If you begin with God and the principles taught in Scripture, then, for example, charging person X $15, and person Y $25 for the same product is wrong. If you don’t begin with God and His principles, you might or might not reach the same conclusion. For me, this meant that when I had a treat to share at work, I was obligated to inform people I didn’t like just as I did people I did like.

          Of course, claiming to begin with God doesn’t mean one does, and even if one begins with God, it’s all too easy to kick Him to the curb and head off on our own. That’s part of why we need to both begin with the beginning in mind and begin with the end in mind. The combination helps us stay on track, or at least get back on track.

          And this is where we struggle. If we are beginning with God, we’re supposed to obey what He says. We’re supposed to trust Him. We’re supposed to live according to His laws and precepts. Do I trust Him enough to do X? To not do X? “Oh, but it really has nothing to do with trust. It has to do with desire.” Well, are you willing to trust Him with that desire and listen to what He says about it? And if you are making decisions that do not lead back to Him and to His precepts, are you beginning with either the beginning or the end in mind? Or are you just thinking of now? If you are only thinking of now, is it a good decision?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen To Him

              The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him . (Deuteronomy 18:15)           Today, we switch from Jesus’ claims of “I am” to prophecies made about Him. My Bible platform is starting in Deuteronomy. I’d start in Genesis, where we would learn that the one who would save us would be a descendant of Eve (Genesis 3:15), of Noah (by default), Abram and Sara(Genesis 12:1-3). Isaac (Genesis 17:19), Jacob (Genesis 25:23), Judah (Genesis 29:8), and David (II Samuel 7:12-16). There were also references to a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:22-32). In addition, there were prophecies about when and where the prophet/Messiah would be born and what would happen to him.           Of course, naysayers will claim that Jesus’ life was retrofitted or reverse enginee...
Post a Comment
Read more