Habit # 3: Put first things first (biblically speaking)

Welcome back Viphilus*

OK, so you are developing a proactive mind and you have learned to start with the end in mind. Covey’s 3^rd habit is learning to “put first things first.” This is the skill of learning the difference between important and urgent, something I touched on a number of times in this blog last year.

Most people understand the concept of triage. To be clear though, here is what Wikipedia says about it:  triage is the process of determining the priority of patients' treatments based on the severity of their condition; this rations patient treatment efficiently when resources are insufficient for all to be treated immediately.

Stephen Covey’s 3^rd habit is about learning to live with an ever-present priority structure at the front of our mind. It is about Triage-Living. Today, however, I simply want to point out the Biblical imperative on this and where Covey discovered this principle in the Bible.

There are a number of Scriptural references, but let’s start with what I think is the core. Jesus is speaking and the context is important. The following quote comes right on the heels of a number of statements about the things that people worry about or develop anxiety over.

“But, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”  (Matthew 6:33)

In other words … if you put God first, everything else will sort itself out.

After living schizophrenically for 40 years … sometimes obeying this simple imperative and sometimes not … all I can say is that Jesus is right.

Of course, there are other Biblical statements by Jesus that lend support to this, such as what He himself refers to as the greatest commandment, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.” (Luke 10:27).

But for this post, I want to zoom in more on the principle of why it is important to not live duplicitously … but to live with a singleness of purpose, at least on any given day or in any given moment. That comes out clearly in some other words of Jesus when He said,

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” (Matthew 6:24). Now the context of that statement is in support of why we can’t really live effectively if our love for money is all consuming … but the principle rises above the statement; put first things first.

In March we will be looking at the three habits that Covey references as being part of our “public life,” which is essential for living in this world because life is all about relationship. But before we get there let’s look at one more statement of Jesus that rises out of His own principle of putting first things first … the principle that relationships are more important than anything else. In this I’ll direct you to a strange comment that Jesus made in the same sermon from which I got the other two Matthew references above

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24)

Notice His words .... "FIRST go ...."    There is a priority order to things.

When Jesus made this statement, worship was both a private and corporate thing, but always involved bringing sacrifices and gifts to the temple altar. What he is saying here is that it is impossible to worship God effectively (or perhaps, at all) if you have a relational fracture with someone. Before you come to worship, make sure that you have done your level best to restore and then sustain that relationship. After all, that’s what worship is … restoring and then maintaining our relationship with God.

Jesus is telling us relationships are the highest priority … even before worship!  This may sound shocking to most religious people because all of us were taught that God comes first (shall I roll out the 10 commandments here?) And He does. But Jesus taught how we actually execute that commandment in our life and it includes caring for each other as much as He does. The Lord’s brother, James, must have seen this lived out as he grew up watching his oldest brother live his life by putting other people ahead of everything:

“Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."  (James 1:26-27) 

The way we speak and live can hurt other people … which, if you say that you love God, is kinda like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Put first things first.

Next Monday we will look at how we begin doing just that as it relates to our relationships.

I hope to see you back next Monday.

Blessings Viphilus,

Your friend, Omega Man

OCA Training

* Viphilus means, "lover of life"

Habit # 2: Start with the end in mind (biblically speaking)

Welcome back Viphilus*

Start with the end in mind!

Why the exclamation mark? Because I don’t have a punctuation mark that conveys the sarcastic notion of, “duh.”

Nobody builds a house without construction plans … and nobody can create construction plans without blueprints … and nobody can create blueprints without a big-picture concept of what the house is going to look like. Let’s face it … you seldom create anything without having a pretty good idea of what the end looks like before you even start; a puzzle; a recipe; a piece of pottery; a work project; a home project ….. ANY PROJECT.

In keeping with my purpose in this series, I want to show where Stephen Covey found his 7 habits/principles in the Bible. For this habit …. Habit # 2: Start with the End in Mind … you don’t go to the end of the Bible, you go to the beginning. Not just close to the beginning, although you’ll see it there. For example, in the first handful of pages of the book of Genesis you’ll read the story of Noah and how God was angry at humanity and decided to destroy everyone in a catastrophic flood. God instructed Noah to build an ark (a very big boat which took him many decades) and He gave him some construction guidelines. In order for the boat to survive the flood and serve its purpose of keeping people and animals safe, it needed to be “made to order.” Noah needed to know what it was going to look like before he started. [I’ll resist getting into the discussion of a multi-decades long weather forecast which was subsequently revised 7 days before the storm came].

If you go to the very beginning … where the Bible actually records the words, “In the beginning …” you read of God’s act of creation. In a handful of verses you see how the entire universe was created with human-beings being the ultimate act of His creation. Then you read the rest of the Bible to get the big picture … that He created everything for us, to demonstrate His love for us and to give us a space to learn about relationship. In other words, when He created everything that is, He did so with us in mind.

But it goes deeper. In fact, because God is God, He could look ahead and see how everything would turn out and He knew that we were going to screw up and drift away from his intent for life here on earth … and in anticipation of that He (proactively – Habit #1) prepared for the eventuality of our sinfulness by setting in motion a “plan” for saving us from our own foolishness and selfishness. That plan was the sacrifice of His Son Jesus for us, His greatest creation … a plan which He put in place even before the beginning … even before the universe was created. 1 Peter 1:20 says that Jesus was chosen to be our “sacrificial lamb” before the foundations of the world were ever laid. In Revelation 13:8 speaks prophetically about Jesus as that lamb who was sacrificed before the world was even created. In other words, since it was in God’s plan from BEFORE the beginning … and since God’s plans always work out … then it was as good as done. God started with the end in mind.

How about you? Do you know where you’re going when you start out on a journey or do you just wander aimlessly hoping to get somewhere? When someone asks me to coach them the first thing I ask them is, “what is the goal?” “what do you want to look like or be or be able to do when we are done?” Without an idea of the direction, you can’t even start. For people that I coach over the longer term I highly recommend that they create a personal mission statement; this can be one of the most powerful actions a person can take in their life. A statement or phrase or story that ultimately guides them can be an unbelievably powerful gyroscope for keeping you on track for your destination … wherever that is.

The concept of knowing where you’re going … starting with the end in mind … is infused throughout Christian language. The Apostle Paul spoke about “finishing the race that was laid out before him.” The writer of Hebrews wrote about keeping our eyes focused on Jesus throughout that race because, in reality, Jesus Himself is the goal … He is the finish line … and every runner / racer knows that you have to keep your eye and mind on the finish line.

If you have nothing as your target, you’ll hit that every time: NOTHING!

Start with the end in mind. Seems so simple and logical and obvious, yet soooooooooo few people think this way. Once you do, you'll never be the same.

I hope to see you back next Monday for Habit # 3: Putting First Things First.

Blessings Viphilus,

Your friend, Omega Man

OCA Training

* Viphilus means, "lover of life"

Sharpening my saw Today instead of Feb.29

Good morning Viphilus...

I'm still getting used to Nova Scotia's new "family day" holiday ... which I forgot was today.

Therefore, instead of taking a break on Feb.29 as originally advertised, I will take today off and bump the next two posts one week into the future.

See you back next Monday for a closer look at Habit # 2.


Omegaman

Habit # 1 - Be Proactive (biblically speaking)

Welcome back Viphilus*

OK, let's launch into Covey's 7 Habits.

In case you missed last week's intro, what I am doing for the next 2 months is to talk about the biblical origins of Stephen Covey's principles outlined in his amazing 1989 best seller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (powerful lessons in personal change).

Merriam-Webster defines “proactive” as acting in anticipation of future problems, needs or changes.

The business world throws this word around with abandon without always fully comprehending both the depth and breadth of its intent. The best way that I can think of describing it is by referencing Aristotle’s famous quote, “we are what we repeatedly do.” My point is that this is NOT ONLY what Aristotle said. Without the full quote, the complete contextual understanding of that statement is lost. Here is the full quote: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.”

Being proactive is not an act … nor is it a thought; it is a habit. It is a mindset. Better yet … it is a heart-set.

Discussions about the word “proactive” usually include considering the difference between proactive and reactive, with the understanding that it is better to choose how to respond to an event or a circumstance before it happens rather than waiting for the vagaries of life to deliver up the circumstance and then hoping that you will respond appropriately during “battle conditions.”

But it goes much further than this. Look at the definition again from above. Someone who is proactive looks ahead and anticipates events or problems or changes or needs … and then acts in a manner to prepare for that eventuality. The entirety of Emergency Management (sometimes called Disaster management) theory is predicated on having such a mindset / heart-set because it teaches us to anticipate events or circumstances that may create enormous problems for large populations; events like big storms. When I oversaw the forecast operations for the Canadian Hurricane Centre a big part of my job was to liaise with emergency managers. That work naturally fell along 4 distinct lines of effort: mitigation (which included prevention); preparedness (which included the development of readiness plans); response (which included the execution of those plans); and recovery (which included all efforts, following the event, to bring the affected areas back to their original state … or better).

Emergency management thinking is not new. In fact, the first Bible passage which I want to point to today actually proves that mitigative thinking has been in our collective wisdom for a very long time. The passage is from Matthew 7 where Jesus tells a parable of two builders: one who is foolish and one who is wise.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”  (Matthew 7:24-27)

This parable shows the cost of not looking ahead and planning for inevitable outcomes. I’m not looking for us to wade into the murky waters of cost-to-benefit ratios or risk-analyses. I’m speaking about the inevitable things that we know are GOING to happen such that the only questions will be about when? rather than if? Jesus’ parable runs on the assumption that big storms are going to happen, so why not do the work of preparing for them. And notice that his praise and indictment come from the actions or inactions. Knowing isn’t enough; wisdom tells you that action is needed. Now he has just told his listeners a lot of stuff. The “stuff” makes up Jesus’ most famous sermon, often called, “the sermon on the mount.” In this parable Jesus is telling his listeners that their wisdom or foolishness will be determined by whether or not they do anything with everything he has just taught them. More specifically, to start implementing his teachings into their lives immediately and to not simply wait for the storms of life to arrive before they start dealing with them because in those cases, it will likely be too late.

Back in the 1990s, a very popular phrase became a viral motto that ran throughout evangelical Christianity in North America: “What would Jesus do?” It quickly became an acronym, WWJD, which showed up on T-shirts and bracelets. Christians would use this phrase as a reminding question to themselves to reflect on their moral imperative to act in a manner that would demonstrate their allegiance to Jesus. From the moment the slogan hit the streets it never sat well with me, although I couldn’t articulate why … until I read Dallas Willard’s thoughts on it. The USC theology & philosophy professor mused that a better acronym most certainly would be WDJD … “what DID Jesus do?”  Dr. Willard’s point? The only way that we would have the ability to respond---in battle conditions---the way Jesus did, and make the right moral judgments, would be to have spent decades in personal training of mind and heart, like Jesus did. In other words, the only reason Jesus was able to DO the things that he was able to do was because of all the things that he had DONE in training himself for those very moments. Jesus had a proactive nature and spent decades building invulnerability and readiness into his character so that in moments of extreme testing, his training and preparation determined the outcome, not the severity of the event or his emotional state at the time.

Before I close out this week I want to point out that this isn’t the only biblical passage that highlights proactivity. There are many more that speak about looking ahead at threats or inevitable outcomes and how we should prepare and not simply wait to react. Like:

1 Peter 5:8 – “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

Peter states the threat (the devil), uses a simile to make it understandable (he is like a roaring lion on the prowl), and a course of action (be alert and of sober mind).

Biblical Example
This was an easy choice. Perhaps one of the most famous stories in the entire Bible is the story of Joseph. Joseph was the 2nd youngest of 12 sons of a man named Jacob, who's name was changed by God to the name Israel (yes, after whom the nation was named). The story of Joseph makes for a Hollywood blockbuster and accounts for 1/3 of the entire book of Genesis. For a biblical example of proactive thinking I want to zoom right in to near the end of the story in Genesis 41. As we pick up the action, Joseph is a prisoner in an Egyptian jail. One day (skipping all the details) he gets invited to interpret a vision that God had given the Pharaoh in a dream. His interpretation was that a period of abundance was coming but would be followed by a long famine (obviously driven by a long drought - the best stories always have a weather component to them). Pharaoh was so impressed at Joseph’s interpretation and his advice about how to mitigate and prepare for the famine that he not only let him out of jail, but he promoted him to vice-Pharaoh over all Egypt. Now that's quite a leap ... from zero to hero ... from jail to ruler over everything. Pharaoh recognized wisdom when he saw it, and he saw it in a young guy who practiced proactive thinking.

Now I haven’t scoured history books to know if Joseph was actually the first Emergency Manager in history, but one thing is for sure … being ready to respond when a storm comes (or a drought) is ancient advice that is just as prudent today as it was 5000 years ago.

And speaking of wisdom, King Solomon, referenced in the Bible as the wisest man in the world, wrote a great deal about being proactive. Didn't know that? Just read Proverbs. 

Proverbs 21:5 - The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.

Proverbs 24:27 - Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.

In the movie, The Great Debaters, which I love, is an interesting scene about proactive living. Forest Whitaker plays a preacher who tries to instill in his son the importance of doing your personal character work first so that you can reap the benefits later. His advice to his son goes something like, "Do what you have to so that you can do what you want to."

I believe that this is exactly how Jesus lived his life. He did what he had to in order to be able to do what he wanted to (or needed to). If you want to do what Jesus could do then you’ll need to start doing what Jesus did to create that skilled capacity. Train! Or, if you want to play piano like Billy Joel then you will need to start doing what he did to reach his level of skill and mastery. Train! Or, if you want to think critically with discernment then seek out the wisest person that you know and ask them to describe what they did to get that way …. then start doing that (and I guarantee that it will be some form of training). 

Maybe though you aren’t striving to be the wisest most Godly piano player on the planet … maybe you just want to exercise self-control over your mouth when someone inadvertently hits one of your “buttons,” or you want to supervise an employee in a way that better engages him, or you want to make sure that you have the right skills to do your dream job, or you want to make sure that your home is ready to handle a big storm, or you want to have enough money to buy a home in the first place. Regardless, the foundational approach is the same. You have to look ahead in anticipation of an inevitable (or desired) event and begin preparing for that now. AND ... you have to learn to think that way with everything that matters. That’s what it means to be proactive.

Now I’m going to be proactive on your behalf and look ahead to next week when we consider Habit # 2, which is …. wait for it … to begin with the end in mind. Notice that both of the first two habits are about seeing more clearly into the future in order to more effectively choose your actions now in order to create it.

I hope to see you back next Monday.

Blessings Viphilus,

Your friend, Omega Man

OCA Training

* Viphilus means, "lover of life"

The 7 Habits – where did Covey find them?

Happy February Viphilus*

2016 is screaming by with January already in the rear-view mirror.

As promised, I am committing the next two months to reviewing Stephen Covey’s, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” (1989), from a specific angle … to highlight where he came up with these principles. When I start to have this conversation with people who have actually read the book they halt at my first point and want to argue. Then I simply direct them to locate their copy (it needs to be theirs so that they won’t think I’ve slipped them an altered joke-version … so that they realize what I told them has been in their copy all along and that they simply didn’t see it).

And what is that first point? Actually, it is the entire point of the next two months in this blog. Covey gets his 7 habits from guiding principles that he read in God’s Word. Yep: the Bible!  (the exclamation mark is inappropriate  - I’ve just added it for my own emphasis … as if a dramatic base-chord is being played while you read it).

And the push-back I get from people is actually quite funny because they almost stumble over their own incredulity because nothing as amazing as the 7 Habits book could possible come from something as ancient as the Bible. And I get it … for many (most) the Bible is an antiquated collection of writings, filled with errors, inconsistencies, prejudices and the gross un-enlightenment of a by-gone era.

Yah – not so much. Just look around at the most common struggles and dysfunctions that you see in our society (or your own life or family) and you’ll see some absolutes being violated that are pretty much self-evident when trying to diagnose the root causes. People rail against these truths without stopping to realize that the social data is so overwhelmingly stacked against them … resulting in my own incredulity about why people just don’t get it.

So for Feb and Mar I don’t want to preach … I simply want to connect the dots, at least as best as I can surmise. Covey says in his “personal note” at the end of the last chapter that he gets his principles from the Bible, but he doesn’t actually point out chapters and verses …. He simply makes the general statement. My intention for the next 2 months is to actually show you the chapters and verses with some brief explanations, at least as far as I can speculate about why Covey chose these particular 7 principles/practices.

This week I simply want to list his 7 habits.

The first 3 Habits are concerned with developing independence … focusing on your private world (the term “private world” is one that I first encountered from Gordon MacDonald, in his 1984 book, “Ordering Your Private World.”) It is about developing self-mastery.

HABIT # 1 – Be proactive
Don’t adopt a reactive attitude, simply waiting for things to happen to you before you respond. Rather, choose how you will respond effectively before something happens.

HABIT # 2 – Begin with the end in mind
Envision what you want in the future so that you can plan and work towards it.

HABIT # 3 – Put first things first
Learn the difference between important and urgent and prioritize life so that things aren’t done simply because they are urgent.

The second 3 Habits are concerned with developing interdependence … focusing on your public world. It is about getting along with others.

HABIT # 4 – Think Win:Win
Value and respect others and understand that a “win” for everyone is ultimately the best long-term solution for both you and the other person.

HABIT # 5 – Seek first to understand, then to be understood
Learn to listen empathically in order to create strong relational environments where problem-solving will be at its best.

HABIT # 6 – Synergize
Combine the strengths of team members while mitigating against their weaknesses, ultimately achieving more together than what is possible individually.

The final habit is about sustainability and continuous improvement in both your private and public worlds.

HABIT # 7 – Sharpen the saw
Balance and renew your resources (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, social) in order to sustainably build personal capacity.

Homework for next Monday: see if you can come up with your own biblical reference to support habit 1 about being proactive.

Have a great week and I hope to see you back next Monday.

Blessings Viphilus,

Your friend, Omega Man

OCA Training

* Viphilus means, "lover of life"