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.