Hilltopper Book Club

Sunday, January 23rd, we met to review how James I empowers us to "Presevering Joy".  Pastor Bill, in his earlier sermon, focused on the first word of the Chapter, "Consider it pure joy,...." He stated that "consider" means rational thinking.  Rational "thinking" is the subject of the book under review:  The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" by Steven Covey.  I had to admit, I began to study this book fifteen years ago after failure after failure and did so in order to become a "highly effective person".  It was a full five years later that my eyes happened to focu on the subtitle on the front cover:  "Powerful lessons in personal change".  Now, wait a minute, I didn't need to change, I just wanted to become highly effective.  It took me another five years to understand why I needed to change.

The single, simple idea I wished to convey in the review was that James and Covey are speaking of the same thing:  James, in Christian theological terms and Covey in terms of rational thinking.  This simple idea is NONE, Not One Negative Experience!  It is based on nothing, the same thing James states "Count it pure joy my brethren, when ye face trials of many kinds, for the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverence finish her work, leaving you mature and  complete, lacking NOTHING".  (KJV) 

As products of conditioned reaction, it is natural for us to react to the circumstances of life.  However, the first habit of one's "daily, private victory" is to BE "proactive".  Note Shakespeare poundered five hundred years ago, "To be or not to be, that is the question."  So now, proactivity, not reactivity, is the path to take to becoming "effective, useful and peaceful", the central theme of  The Seven Habits.  Rationally, the first three habits address one's private victory over natural tendencies of avoiding negatives: Not One Negative Experience.  We remember past sermons that once we step through the door into the Kingdom, we are immediately confronted with a choice as Pastor Bill pointed out:  the road to epithumia (lust of the flesh) or the upper road to the mind of Christ.  It is up to us and it is not an easy decision to make.  The question is how do we become pro-active instead of re-active?  Rationally, we can step back and look at our emotions, how we "feel" about something.  If we can learn to subordinate "feeling" to principle, epithumia to the mind of Christ, our first step is to "center, focus and concentrate" on "nothing".  In short, practice visualizing nothing, including feelings, and we have a clear choice between right and wrong.  If we keep going back to Christ to refill our emptiness, we soon will experience True None, a place where not one, experience is negative, and this is the mind of Christ, where we have lain down all our idols at the foot of the Cross.

To conclude:  Covey uses a metaphor to prepare for our "daily, public, victory.  He states before we try to relate to others, make certain we don't make withdrawals from their "emotional bank account".  This would be, of course, a negative.  We should always be aware,  if to not be positive,  at least be neutral.  Again, think of Not One Negative Experience for others and after many stumbling attempts, we will find sure footing on the upper road.
RTJ