The Seven Habits: Put First Things First

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 6:33, KJV

 

In Stephen Covey's book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People", his third habit was to put first things first. Now this may seem a little odd after he said that the second habit was to begin with the end in mind, but by saying that, he was just showing the importance that highly effective people place on goals. The reason for that is simple: If you do not know why you are doing something, you are not as likely to take it seriously enough to give it your best effort. However, once we are convinced of the worthiness of our direction, then we can set about achieving that goal in an orderly fashion.

 

Which brings us to the idea of putting first things first. We can readily see why this is the best method of going about things when we look at it from a practical point of view. Before a person can learn calculus, he is first going to have to learn his numbers and how to count. Prior to writing a great novel, the writer first must learn her ABC's and how to read and write. Before Michael Jordon learned to fly through the air and dunk a basketball, he had to first learn what a pivot foot was and how it could be used properly. Then he could go on to dribbling, passing, shooting and dunking.

 

In all areas of importance in our physical lives, we can see that we must first know and master the basics before we can proceed towards accomplishing the great things we would like to do. A couple who wants to go on their dream European vacation on their 25th anniversary is going to have to go about it in an orderly manner. Since they are not just somehow going to magically show up in London and Paris after a quarter century of marriage, they are going to have to carefully plan how they are going to do it. Putting first things first will allow them to first make the goal and then move on to the specific plans for the trip. Everything from financing the trip to arranging time off from their jobs, and from making the airline and hotel reservations to forming a specific itinerary for the trip, will all have to be done before they can hope to fulfil their dream of actually going on this vacation.

 

While I believe that most people can see the need for putting first things first in the planning of the "big things" in their physical lives, it is shocking to see how few people will actually apply this principle when it comes to the most important area of their life; namely, their salvation! Everybody wants to go to heaven I suppose, but how many actually make the arrangements needed to do so? When it comes down to it, many people give more serious thought as to how they will get to their child's basketball game or piano recital than they do to how they will get to heaven.

 

But the fact of the matter is that people will not just accidentally find themselves in heaven someday. Heaven really is a prepared place for a prepared people, so we must begin to put serious thoughts into how we will get there. "Faith and grace", some will say, and this is an excellent place to start. However, if it were just these two things even the demons would be saved. But as James the brother of Christ pointed out, "The demons believe, and they shudder" for even they know that there is more to serving God than just acknowledging His Son's existence and then expecting God's grace to save them. In fact, it is James who gives the only recording of the phrase "grace alone" in the entire Bible, and in using it he points out through inspiration that this will not save us.

 

So, what does? Am I implying that we can somehow earn our salvation? That would be blasphemy and a direct contradiction of Paul's inspired teaching in his letter to the church in Ephesus. But just because something is not the reason for accomplishing great things does not mean that it is not necessary. Learning how to properly use a pivot foot is not the reason for Michael Jordon's greatness in basketball, but he still needed it to get his start. Saving money is not the reason that a couple will "find themselves" in Europe, but they are still going to have to have funding before they can go. In a like manner, serving God to the best of your ability is not the reason that your sins will be forgiven, but forgiveness is still not available for those who refuse to repent and live a life of faithful obedience. 

 

It is when we put first things first that we can begin to serve our Lord and Savior in the way that God desires. We must first learn what we can know about Him, and that means we have to begin with the Bible, for it is the Word of God that reveals all we need to know in this important area. Let's face it, we have to first know who we must serve before we can serve them. We have to first know where we are going before we can begin our journey. We must first know what we are to do and how we are to do it before we can actually do it. 

 

The thing is, we can see these truths in the most basic things we do in life - from brushing our teeth to tying our shoes, but we often miss out on this vital truth when it comes to our service to God. But, as Jesus Himself so beautifully put it some 2,000 years ago, if we will seek first God's kingdom and His righteousness, everything else in our life will fall into place because God will make it so. All we have to do is to put first things first. Having done that, God will give us the opportunity and the means to take care of anything else that might be needed for the journey.

 

Are you putting first things first? If not, today would be a great day to start!

 

 

Do We Have what it Takes to Make America Great Again?

Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate? Now therefore, thus says the LORD of Hosts, 

"Consider your ways! You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied... and he who earns, earns wages to be put into a purse with holes." Thus says the LORD of Hosts, "Consider your ways!"

Haggai 1:4-7, NASB

 

The election is finally over, and we have chosen a new President. But for millions of people like me, we have not just selected a new President but a new direction. We are tired of our borders being open and criminals entering this nation. It's not that all are murders, thieves and rapists, but all who have come illegally are criminals, and we have watched with horror as our own government has aided and abetted this crime. This same government has gone on a mad spending spree that has resulted in sky rocketing inflation and a debt which will hamper future generations for years to come. We have abortion at any stage, we have men who think they are women and vice versa, we have sown hatred and dissatisfaction and hopelessness.

 

I believe we have been given a second chance, but perhaps not in the way you are thinking, for the things I listed above are not the root of the problem, but mere symptoms. The root is that we have lost our devotion to God and, unless we return to Him, we are quite literally doomed. The leaders we have selected are not perfect individuals and they cannot save us from our troubles. We will have to do that on our own and it will likely be the most difficult thing we have ever done. We are going to have to consider our ways and count the costs. Does America have what it takes to be great again?

 

It will have to begin with a recognition that we have sin in our own lives that must be repented of. We will have to acknowledge the fact that we have been living in fine houses while the Lord's "house" is lying in ruins. This is what the Israelites in Haggai's time were admonished for. They had just returned from a 70-year exile in enemy territory and were trying to rebuild. They naturally started with their own homes for they had to have somewhere to live, but they had gone too far. Once they had returned from exile, and once they had food and shelter, they should have gotten serious about rebuilding the temple of the LORD... but they found themselves too busy to do so. Their houses were not quite good enough yet. They didn't have quite the store of food yet. They didn't have quite the amount of savings to really feel secure yet. 

 

It seems it wasn't enough for God to rescue them and provide them with good things - they had to have more. And when it came time to build the house of the LORD? Well, they simply didn't have time! So, God sent the prophet Haggai to deliver this message: In effect, he said, "You plant much, but you harvest little; you have clothes, but they are not warm enough to keep you comfortable; you try to put a bit into savings, but it is instantly consumed." And then he gave them this message directly from God: Consider your ways!

 

This in a nutshell is what I believe we need to be doing right now. In effect, we have returned from exile. America has been on a decades-long experiment of divorcing God from their lives and wedding themselves to the evil one. How has that worked out so far? I have to admit that it was beginning to look hopeless to me, but this election has changed that opinion. It's not that the people that we have elected are so good, for we are all too familiar with the flaws they have had in their own lives. Rather, it is that these people have pledged themselves to trying to halt this plunge into depravity that America has participated in. Whether they will be successful or not will entirely depend on whether they will humble themselves before God and try to rebuild in His way.

 

And make no mistake, America needs rebuilding. Too many of us have just accepted the fact that we are surrounded with perversion and crime and foul language and drugs and every other sinful activity you can think of. Sadly, many of those who claim to be Christians have plunged into the same lifestyle of dissipation. After all, everybody is doing it, aren't they? But this has to stop, America's sinking ship has to be righted before it goes under for the last time. If my words seem to be a little extreme and perhaps even a bit dramatic and exaggerated to you, then consider this: I am convinced that our situation is that dire and more. Furthermore, I believe this may very well be our last chance to actually do something about it before it is too late.

 

So what do we need to do? I believe that we have to repent and turn back to the Lord in our personal lives before we can even think about cleaning up the mess that America finds itself in. We need to encourage others to do the same, and then we need to insist that our newly elected leaders repent as well. Then we need to get over the idea that we need to rebuild our own lives and get our own things together before we can possibly begin rebuilding the house of the Lord. I'm not talking about constructing a new church building: I am talking about rebuilding the temple of the Lord that is to be in all of our hearts. For until we return to God with all of our heart and soul and mind and strength, the idea of returning this nation to its former glory will not be possible. Why is that?

 

It is because this country was founded by men and women who were determined to make it a nation that was directed and ruled by God!

 

And I'm not inferring that it was some sort of theocrasy in which God's high priests ruled the land. I am simply talking about the fact that every child who went to school learned from the earliest possible age. This nation was founded by people who believed that God was the Creator and that Jesus was their Savior. They believed that if people would just conduct themselves in a godly manner, and if they would prefer and select Christians for their leaders, that the nation would be safe. While it is true that some of our founders did not fully embrace Christianity, they were in the distinct minority. As Alexis de Tocqueville pointed out, "America was great because America was good, and if she ever ceased to be good, she would cease to be great." His intended observation has become an unintended prophesy. America has ceased to be great because she ceased to be good!

 

We have a rare opportunity to correct that error but, like the people of Haggai's time who were returning from an exile of their own, we have to consider our ways! We need to take care of first things first. That means restoring God to His rightful position as the rightful King of our lives, and then insisting that our leaders do the same. Failing that, I am convinced that America will fail. However, should we be able to accomplish this vital feat of restoring God and Christ to their rightful positions, first in our hearts and then in our nation, then I am convinced that we can become what God has always intended for us to be.

 

We have a new leader who has taken as his motto, "Make America Great Again!" Be assured that this can be done, but not without first making America good again. And that will require nothing less than a modern-day miracle: It will require that we return our hearts, our lives, and our nation back to God! Are you willing to do your part? It will begin with us all considering our ways, and then doing something about them.  

The Seven Habits: The Goal

For you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your soul.

I Peter 1:9, NIV (1978)

 

Begin with the end in mind. Stephen Covey

 

In Stephen Covey's book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People", he listed the second habit as the need for keeping the end in mind. The idea behind that is that we know the reason for our pursuits in advance of all the planning and activity that will be needed to reach the particular goal you have in mind.

 

A fine example of this very thing was made clear to me by a statement one of our high school coaches in Happy made to me recently. He said that he wanted to win, but it was far more important in his eyes that they turn out to be good men. In order to accomplish this goal, he instils discipline and insists on good character. He does not permit these young men to criticize one another or to use bad language. Interestingly enough, these types of things lend well to not only to making boys good men, but it has the pleasant side effect of producing winners.

 

The need to begin with the end in mind is critical for all of our worthwhile endeavors. We have four or five young men and women at the church I attend who are enrolled in a veterinary program. It is a long process and the work is hard. There are a lot easier degrees to pursue, and there is more than a fair amount of people who quit the program long before graduation. Because the work is so long and so hard, it is important for them to remember why they are enrolled in such a challenging study in the first place. Otherwise, they will simply give up.

 

For Christians, it is the same. The Christian walk is difficult. It requires certain sacrifices, including denying ourselves of many of the sinful "pleasures" that the world runs after. It requires study, devotion, and sacrifice. If we are not convinced that Heaven is the outcome of our faith, there will come a point where we will simply give up because the work is too hard and the price is too high. This is the very reason that Jesus said that His potential followers would need to count the costs before they started to follow Him. Otherwise, they would quit somewhere along the way and as a result they would actually become a liability to Him rather than an asset.

 

The reason for this should be obvious to those who think about it: The world is opposed to the ways of Christ and takes great delight when a follower of Christ fails in their task. And, like a half-finished building that stands as a mocking reminder of the builder's failure, a Christian who ceases his course stands as a similar reminder that allows the enemies of the cross to deride and humiliate others who would attempt a similar path. 

 

So, the importance of beginning with the end in mind is clear: The goal of our faith is nothing less than salvation! It is this goal that will keep us going when others with less devotion will quit. Of course, the motivation behind that goal must be our love for both the Father and the Son or the goal will become meaningless. By beginning with this end firmly in our sights, it will keep us from growing weary and giving up. This is why the second habit is so vital, and this is why we must know the reason behind our quest before we start if we are to have any hope of completing it. The second habit for those seeking high achievement is that they begin with the end firmly in mind. 

The Seven Habits

Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

James 1:22, NIV

 

First habit: Be proactive. - Stephen Covey

 

If you haven't read Stephen R. Covey's "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" I would recommend you get a copy and read it. The book is primarily aimed at businessmen but has excellent application for people in all areas of life. The reason for that is it is not only businessmen who benefit from excellence, but everyone - from students to parents, from athletes to hobby enthusiasts, the pursuit of excellence will make you more effective, it will make you a better person in general, and it will lend to a higher degree of enjoyment in any area of life that you find worthwhile to pursue.

 

And excellence will make you a better servant of God!

 

I came across this book over twenty years ago, and was fascinated at its concept that you could acquire habits that would make you more effective in everything that you do. I have to admit that when I got the book, I just flipped to the part that listed these seven habits and found them to be so practical that I wrote them down on a 3x5 index card and started carrying them around. Soon I had committed them to memory, but I wasn't satisfied with just doing that. I wanted to know why these seven habits were so useful in making a person, as Mr. Covey put it, "highly effective".

 

After looking at it for a while I realized that the reason was that each one of the habits that he had come up with were actually ancient principles that were addressed long ago in the Bible. The first, "be proactive" is a truth that is repeated throughout Scripture. It is obvious that one of the requirements that God has for His people is that they have initiative enough to serve Him because they are motivated to do so. That motivation comes from a number of sources, but the primary motivating factor in wanting to serve God and Christ in the first place is that we love them. And this love is not just some kind of a surface emotion either. As God had Moses point out in the Book of Deuteronomy and as Jesus emphasized some 1,400 years later, that love is to be with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength! Jesus said that this was the greatest of all the commandments.

 

Given this highest form of love, how can a person not be motivated to do something about that love?

 

One of the saddest things in life is when a person is lukewarm and lackluster. They may intellectually know what they ought to be doing, but they don't feel like doing it. Because of this lack of desire, people live subpar lives. They don't excel at anything because they simply are not motivated to put the amount of effort into their pursuits to become excellent. These are the "settlers" in life. They settle for good enough on the job, good enough in the classroom, and good enough in their marriages. They might in fact do just enough to keep from getting fired or from failing or from having their spouse leave them, but they really have nothing about them that impresses others because they simply will not expend the effort it takes to excel at anything. 

 

They simply fail to see the point!

 

Not so with the highly effective person! They just seem to savor everything that they do. As a result, they pour all of their heart and soul into the task at hand. These are not the types of self-deceivers who merely acknowledge that they ought to be doing something. These are the people who jump into the work with gusto! As a result, they not only make themselves better, but they do the same for everyone around them. If you have ever engaged in a sport with someone who refuses to give anything less than their best effort, then you know that such effort has a way of spreading throughout the entire team. If you have ever worked with someone who has a high enthusiasm for the work, then you have witnessed for yourself just how contagious that enthusiasm can be. And if you have ever been married to someone who puts extra effort into treating you like a king, then you know that it makes you have a strong desire to treat them like a queen.

 

And, in the most important area of our lives - our service to God - we will find that if we love Him with every fiber of our being, that we will offer a service that is not just worthwhile to the Master, but one that is also highly enjoyable to ourselves. We will find if we do more than simply run our eyes over the words when we are reading the Bible that we will begin to hang on every word. We will find ourselves doing what the inspired writer of Proverbs instructed when he recommended that we search for God's truths in the same way that we might search for hidden treasure. 

 

This type of enthusiasm will spread to our families, to the church, and to literally everyone we come in contact with. It will keep us from being dull and ineffective. It will make others see the importance of God's way to our lives and it will make them wonder why. Further, when they see the effect that God's way of living has on our lives - from the joy we have to the confidence we exude, they will want this for their own life.

 

The fact is that when we become proactive, when we stop just listening to the Word without doing anything about it, it is then that life will become what God intended for it to be. This is why being proactive is so effective! It's not because Stephen Covey somehow managed to come across this secret in the 1980's. It is because God has desired such an attitude from His beloved creation since the beginning of time. And such an attitude of great devotion to God will indeed make us excellent. But, if we are ever going to achieve this type of service, we will have to at some point begin. Today would be a good time to do just that. wouldn't you agree? 

 

 

Don't Quit Just Because You Are Getting Older

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree

They will still bear fruit in old age

They will stay fresh and green

Psalms 92:12-15, NIV

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

II Corinthians 4:16, ESV

 

I have to admit there are some things about getting older that I do not like. I don't like the fact that I can't play basketball anymore. I don't enjoy having to take time out of the day to stretch just so that I can function. I sometimes have to take two or three trips to carry loads that used to just take one. I don't like the fact that my memory is not as sharp as it once was. I find myself wandering around the house at times trying to remember what I was looking for in the first place. Fortunately, I usually find my way to the kitchen on such occasions so that I can get a snack to sustain me in that search. 

 

The fact is that there are a number of things about getting older that are just not much fun. On the other hand, age does have certain advantages. For example: I do like getting a monthly check in the mail from the same organization that used to take money out of my check each month. I love having grandchildren who are energetic and who will willingly show their love to me by running to the kitchen to fetch me a snack. Sometimes they will even suggest such kindnesses without even being asked. On these occasions, they will often share those treats so that I won't have to eat alone. I like having a bit more wisdom than I used to possess, though I have to admit that I still don't use it as often as I should.

 

But more than anything, I enjoy the prospect that my advancing age is actually taking me somewhere that I want to go - heaven!

 

And though I don't deserve such blessing, I do find the vital truths of the 92nd Psalm that we read above. I have found that while so many people just seem to be getting older and seem to complain more and more about that fact, that the righteous do not have to get stale and just wither on the vine. God still has useful work for those who will notice, and that very usefulness keeps us fresh and green and capable of bearing fruit for Him.

 

One of the saddest things in life is to watch people grow older and think that they are no longer useful. Perhaps they had an important job that made them feel useful and needed, but once having retired, they now feel their days of usefulness are over. People no longer come to them for advice or direction. Having lost that vital role of being needed for a career they no longer have; some people just slowly fade away. Compounding this loss is the fact the some either do not have family, or their family has grown apart. Loneliness can sink in at such times, especially if they cannot or will not get out of the house and get involved in some worthy project that allows them to be around others and feel useful again.  

 

The good news is that these feelings of loneliness and uselessness do not have to continue. God has saved some of the most important work of our life for old age. We can and must get involved with the church. We can enjoy the fellowship of other Christians. We can volunteer our time and efforts to help others even though we have no obvious prospect of being repaid for such endeavors, only to find out that the satisfaction of helping others who truly need that help is a payment far beyond any salary we ever had when younger.

 

For those who will give their lives over to Christ, there will be the pleasant discovery that the days are packed with joy and important things to do! Satisfying work for the Master is available for all who will just open their eyes and look around. After a while, we will find that our inner selves are indeed being renewed day by day and that we are no longer growing stale and rotting on the vine from disuse. And, if we are wise, we will realize that old age is the best time of life. We have time to be around those we love, and we can make time for those who need us. And the best news is that each day we live finds us one day closer to the eternity that God has created us for in the first place.

 

And that day will bring about reunions with faithful Christians who have gone on before us. That day will find us with a new body that will never wear out. It will find us in a place where evil does not exist, so our existence can be filled with a joy that comes from having useful and satisfying work that is unencumbered by wicked people who just seem to always be opposed to anything good and decent. 

 

And we will be in the presence of God and Christ forever!

 

This time is coming closer and closer each day - and this is a good thing for those who are faithful servants of God. The wise will understand that while our physical bodies are indeed suffering the consequences of aging, that our inward self is being renewed, refreshed and revitalized! We are going to heaven, you and I, if we will just be faithful while we are here. And that faithfulness is not a punishment; it is a great reward. It brings satisfying work, brings us in contact with likeminded people who are pleasant to be around, and in the end, it brings us to the point where God has always intended for us to be: With Him!

 

If you have been feeling sorry for yourself, let me just say this: Welcome to the club! Now stop it, and get on with the wonderful, blessing-filled life that God has called you to! There is important work to be done, but it cannot be accomplished by those who are feeling useless and sorry for themselves. No, this work is only for those who are young - for those who are being renewed day by day regardless of that old person that greets them in the mirror each morning. We just have to remember that our age is determined not by the outer man, but the soul that dwells within him. And that soul has important work which must be done!