QUALITY
Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.
An elderly gentleman worked as a carpenter with diligence and great precision. He explained why he spent so much time on each project. “I learned long ago that speed should always be secondary to quality workmanship. Years from now when I’m gone and people inspect what I’m building today, no one will ask, ‘How long did this project take him?’ Instead, they’ll ask, ‘Who made this?’ ”
It is not the length but the nature of our service for Christ which counts for eternity. Consider two young men whose lives were very brief. David Brainerd, who brought hundreds of American Indians to Christ, died at age twenty-four. Robert Murray McCheyne, through whom countless lives were transformed in Scotland, died at age twenty-nine. What was their secret?
From Brainerd’s diary: “How sweet it is to be the Lord’s, to be sensibly devoted to Him! I have less desire to live for the pleasures of this world, but rather to be a pilgrim, and to imitate the life, labors, and sufferings of Paul.”
From McCheyne’s memoirs: “It is my truest happiness to live entirely for the glory of Christ. Not my preaching nor my influence, but the work of God through me to the glory of Christ.”
—The Pilgrim
QUESTIONS
Asking dumb questions is easier than correcting dumb mistakes.
Learning usually passes through three stages. In the beginning you learn the right answers. In the second stage you learn the right questions. In the third and final stage you learn which questions are worth asking.
—Bits & Pieces
Charles Steinmetz, called “the wizard of General Electric,” said, “There are no foolish questions, and no man becomes a fool until he has stopped asking questions.”
He who asks a question is a fool for a minute. He who asks no questions is a fool for a lifetime.
When an animal doesn’t have anything to do, it goes to sleep. When humans have nothing to do, they ask questions.
—Bernard Lonergan
QUESTIONABLE PRACTICES
“Everything is permissible for me—but not everything is beneficial” (1 Corinthians 6:12). Question 1: Is it helpful—physically, spiritually, and mentally?
“Everything is permissible for me—but I will not be mastered by anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12). Question 2: Does it bring me under its power?
“Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall” (1 Corinthians 8:13). Question 3: Does it hurt others?
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). Question 4: Does it glorify God?
—Jerry Bridges