The Chief End (Aim) of Man

Our Friday Devotion comes to us from Council Member, Ray:

"Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!" Psalm 103:1

The most famous of the questions in the Westminster Shorter Catechism is the first:

Q. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

In my brief experience at Grace Harbor Church, I have come a lot closer to this reality! Our amazing pastor has opened my eyes to what is truly the course that all Christians should be taking! But let me compare a very popular book, and its message of truth in the business of life, to our spiritual reality. The book is Stephen Covey's "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", and I will borrow from his principles to prove my point. So, here's RIV translation (Ray's Inventive Version), comparing Covey principles to Christian principles:

1. Be Proactive (Principles of personal vision): we must be intentional about our Christian commitments - e.g., purpose to read the Bible daily. This is probably one of the greatest principles of all.

2. Begin with the End in Mind: if our chief End is to glorify God, let's start now! If you're going to get good at something, purpose to get good at this! It can be a simple thing like raising your hands during a worship song - you wouldn't believe how hard this was for me at the start! But I purposed to do it, and now it's easy!

3. Put First Things First: so, read in the morning (it's like tithing - do it before you run out of the resource, in this case, time).

4. Think Win/Win: in our world, we truly do both win, as God gets the glory He deserves and we get the glory of salvation that we can't earn and don't deserve!

5. Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood: Covey is talking about listening and communicating with empathy, and we need to listen to the Word of God and communicate to Him through prayer. Perhaps the "to be understood" part would be to spread the Gospel to others in an empathetic and comprehensible way.

6. Synergize ("Creative Cooperation"): we can usually learn better, faster, in a group situation that has an effective leader. So, guess what? The Sunday sermons, the Wednesday night Bible Studies, any collection of church saints. When I started hanging out with these great folks, my walk was empowered and emboldened, (hey, that's em-n-em!), and my witness strengthened. "You will be, 5 years from now, the same person you are today except for the people you associate with and the books you read" (Charlie Tremendous Jones), so let's hang with each other and read the Bible!

7. Sharpen the Saw": this is called "balanced self-renewal", and is the principle that surrounds the first 6 because it makes all the others possible. It's preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have - you. Covey and I both agree that you must daily work on the big 4: Physical, Social/Emotional, Mental, and Spiritual dimensions. "The secret of success is hidden in your daily routine" (source obscure) is a maxim that holds in our Christian walk as well - so form good habits, and you won't even have to think about the forming process (that's what a habit is - natural). So, balance daily.

Hope this made some sense, and my blessings go out to all the Grace Harbor saints, and the saints who will read this on our incredible blog!

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