Begin With End In Mind

In his book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey writes that one habit effective people have is that they begin with the end in mind. In other words, they determine where they want to go and then they are intentional about doing the things necessary to get there.

Francis Chan, in his book Crazy Love, has a chapter titled, "Profile of The Lukewarm." In it he describes what a lukewarm Christian looks like. It is quite sobering. He quotes CS Lewis who said, "If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this."

I have been stressing this point to my fourteen year-old son lately. I have been telling him that real men expect the greater reward, God's reward. I explain that men push through their feelings and do what is right, even if it means not getting what they want right now. They are to expect something much, much greater...God's reward.

God does have something much greater for us. In addition to being with Him for eternity, He has rewards for us that He wants to give us for what we have done here (on the Day - notice the capital D in the verse below). Let's look to those rewards which are much greater than any rewards we can receive here.

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
1 Corinthians 3:11-15

Sharpening the Saw

Yesterday, as I mentioned in my previous post, I got two or less hours of sleep before leading our 3rd Tuesday Truth At Work group that morning. I arrived back to my office around 12:30 and tried to catch up on some stuff that came up while I was away the prior few days. I really wanted to get caught up.

However, it seemed I just couldn't get much done. I felt like I was running in quicksand and getting nowhere fast. So, I decided to take a nap.

I then went to a production my son was involved in at school last night and came home and immediately went back to bed and had a great night's sleep.

Today, I had another Truth At Work group to lead and I am now in my office making some nice headway on my tasks.

Stephen Covey's seventh habit in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is Sharpen the Saw. He says that we must rest or refresh in order to be most effective. This is obviously a Biblical principle as well (see the 10 commandments). In the book, he tells the following story:

He's walking through the woods and he hears a sawing noise. He investigates and finds a guy sweating profusely as he tries to cut down a tree. He says to him, "What are you doing?"

The man replies, "I'm cutting down this tree, you dummy!"

Stephen says, "No, I mean, it looks like you have been working hard. How long have you been at this?"

"Two hours."

"Why don't you take some time to sharpen the saw? It will make things go much faster and easier."

"I don't have time to do that--I've got to get this tree cut down!"

Yesterday afternoon when I was trying to get my work done, I had the same attitude as that tree cutter. I could have worked for hours without getting much done. What I really needed was to sharpen my saw which in my case was getting some sleep.

How sharp is your saw?

For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day.

Exodus 20:11a

Live With The End In Mind

I attended another funeral this weekend, a funeral for the father of a friend of ours. Dick Day was an incredible guy who loved much and was loved by many. He was a great example to many in our community.

During the service, the pastor talked about something that has stuck with me since I read Stephen Covey's book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. One of the habits Covey mentions in his book is to "begin with the end in mind." In that chapter, Covey gives us an exercise to do. He asks us to picture our own funeral.

During the funeral, someone from your family, your best friend, someone from the community and someone from your church will get up to talk about your life. They will tell the truth and nothing but the truth. You picture in your mind what you would want each of these people to say. That is the "end" you will be keeping in mind. Then, you are to step back into the present an live your life so that those people can truthfully say those things about you at your funeral, when that day comes.

The pastor mentioned that this was not an exercise for Dick Day, it was the real deal. This really was his funeral. But, he had lived his life with the end in mind.

As a result, here are a few of the things that were said about him that I can remember:

He served people and cared about them because he knew that people mattered to God. Many stories were shared about him befriending strangers and sowing into their lives.

He was frugal on the things that didn't matter and generous on the things that did matter. He would drive for miles to save 10 cents on a stick of butter but would be very quick to pick up the check at lunch.

If you sliced him in half, you would find him to be the same on the inside as he was on the outside.

Wouldn't it be great to have things like this said about you at your funeral? The choice is yours.

Sharpening the Saw

The 7th habit Stephen Covey writes of in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is sharpening the saw.

In the book, he talks of walking through the forest and coming upon a guy who is cutting down a tree. The guy is sweating profusely and is really struggling. You ask, "How long have you been doing this?"

The man says, "Oh, I've been doing this for hours!"

"Why don't you sharpen your saw? It will go a lot faster."

He replies, "I don't have time to do that! I need to cut this tree down right away!"

I don't know about you, but I can relate to the guy cutting down the tree. I don't relax very well sometimes--as a result, I don't sharpen my saw.

However, when I'm on vacation, relaxation comes easy for me. No lawn to mow, no bills to pay, no mail to open. Only laying around, playing with my kids, reading and maybe even taking a nap. Sharpening the saw.

Well, that's what I'm doing this week. Vacation with the family. Great stuff. As a result, I probably won't be posting much this week.

Make it a great week!