The Book of Ten Sayings 7

The seventh entry in the Book of Ten Sayings might appear to be simple, but it actually counsels us to deep and ongoing thought, thorough and penetrating analysis. The saying is, 

"Look to the end." 

1. "Look to the end" is a reminder that whenever we have a decision to make, we must look to the overall goal or purpose. Asking, "Why are we doing this?" can save money, reputation, health, and even life. Asking, "Why should I want to do this?"--that is, asking the question before you engage in the action, can be even more valuable. 

2. "Look to the end" reminds us that our lives here on this planet have expiration dates, and considering the sum total of our input and output should help us organize all of the major (and many of the minor) tasks of life. 

 3. "Look to the end" encourages us to think about the effects the idea or plan or activity will have on other people. 

4. "Look to the end" stimulates us to ask, "And then what?" What will happen after the idea or activity is first acted on? And then what? Just what are the consequences? This saying is one of the most powerful because we notice that many people draw conclusions or make decisions based on the single effect deriving from the chosen solution. Cause, effect. But a little investigation often reveals that what we would really have is Cause, Effect, Effect, Effect, Effect, Effect. Many of these effects were not foreseen after only a shallow analysis was given to idea or decision. 

5. "Look to the end" is fundamentally a call to think about the long term consequences of decisions or proposed actions. Short term effects, even when not filtered by hopeful thinking, nearly always look great. But what about next year or next decade?

6. And of course, "Look to the end" is whispered in our minds as we are encouraged to contemplate not only our life plan but our death plan. It is said that your view of death determines how you live. If you think that your life or earthly existence ends with your death, you will likely live for yourself, but if you think that your life, your soul or spirit, continues after you check out of  Motel Earth, then you will likely learn to live and choose with the benefit of others in mind. 

 And here is the cosmic irony: Selfish people tend to be much less happy than unselfish people. Selfish people spend their time trying to maximize their own happiness. As a consequence, they see others as means to that end. They exploit and use others to get what they think will benefit them most. And when they recognize that they are not happy, they soon they embark on the spiral down to misery. "Being selfish hasn't made me happy, " they they think, "so what I need is to be a lot more selfish." As the teenagers say, "Yeah, like that's gonna work."

Being circumspect (circum=around, spect=looking) means that we should examine our position and know where we stand--that is, how and why we include the values in our personal set of beliefs. "What do I stand for, what do I truly value, and do my words and behavior reflect that?" 

Implied in this saying is the Christian virtue of Hope, one of the seven Christian virtues, and the classical virtue of Prudence (also known as Wisdom). 

The Book of Ten Sayings 6

The sixth entry in the Book of Ten Sayings reminds us what an amazing amount of control we have over our reactions to and feelings about the events of our lives. The Sixth Saying is 

"Not the event, but the attitude."

 Let's begin the discussion with a short story I wrote a while back. THE STRANGE ADVENTURE Once upon a time, so long ago that it seems like yesterday, circumstances so occurred that two youths found themselves lost together in the desert and forced to spend the night without the services of modern technology.

 “What a terrible thing,” said the first one. “We’re stuck out here all alone among who knows what frightening stuff.” 

 “This is great,” said the other. “What an adventure. I can’t wait to see what happens.” As the light began to fade, the youths happened upon a snake, sitting on a rock to get the last warmth it could find before the cold night set in. 

 “Oh, no!” said the first youth. “Out here it’s just one problem after another. Now we’ll have to worry about that snake crawling all over us as we sleep.” 

 “What a great opportunity,” said the second youth. “Now we can have some dinner.” Soon the snake was roasting on an impromptu fire, and in a little while, the two youths began to eat. 

 “This is horrible,” said the first youth, spitting out the meat and nearly vomiting. “I can’t imagine a worse thing.”

 “Actually, it tastes rather mild,” said the second youth, eating with relish. 

 When the next day came and the youths were rescued, they were asked about their adventure. “It was the most awful, horrible experience I’ve ever had,” said the first youth, trembling from the memory. “I’ll be mentally scarred by it for the rest of my life.” 

 “It was great!” said the second youth. “I think it’s the best thing that ever happened to me. What a fun time. I’m so glad I was there.” 

  The events we experience are less important than the meaning we give to them, for life is about meaning, not experience.

 Suppose you are at a friend's house and you bump your head on an open door of a kitchen cabinet. Are more likely to minimize the event and tell your friends that you are okay or are you more likely to launch into a long complaint, in a tone of voice that makes your physical suffering very clear, and emphasizing how much it hurts and hoping it won't need stitches or leave a permanent scar? If you were in the market, which of those two people would you rather marry? If you are one of those highly emotive people, what do you accomplish in each case? If you bring the focus onto yourself and claim to be important enough for everyone to focus on and sympathize with, what does that tell others about yourself?

 A great way to improve your attitude toward all the events in you life is to humble yourself and realize that there are more significant events than your broken fingernail or stained shirt occurring every day and night all over the world. Get serious and stop thinking, "What about me?" every time you talk or listen. Yes, your life, heart, and soul are important to God (which is why he has created a way through Jesus for those who love him to live with him in eternity), but to the world itself, you are just not that important. 

 What makes some people so cheerful all the time (or at least positive), while others are always glum and suspicious? For some, if not many, they have decided to serve God in everything. Their attitude changes from, "Get someone else to do that," or "I'm not going to help," "Don't expect me to clean that up," to "I'll be glad to do that," "It's only mud, and skin is washable," "Looks as if we will be on this job for a while." You can see the difference in their faces and behavior. The "will do" people are happy--yes, happy--washing dishes, cleaning the floor, changing the oil, chopping the firewood, or whatever. The "that's too much work" folks are grumpy and negative, suspicious that you are trying to get them to do extra work.

 Back in the old, old days, before beginning work or a new project, people would always say, "To the glory of God," dedicating their hard and honest work to the Lord. Did that make their projects or tasks easier? Their labors needed the same number of buckets of floor mop and the same number of two-by-fours for the barn, but the tasks were indeed easier because their attitude was entirely different. They cheerfully labored to please God rather than to just get through the hateful task. If you already know God, adjust your attitude to that of a joyful servant. If you don't known God, you have an important first task.

 Blaise Pascal says, "Let them recognize that there are only two kinds of person whom we can describe as reasonable: those who serve God with all their heart because they have found him, and those who seek him with all their heart because they have not found him."